US journalist self-immolates outside White House to protest Gaza media coverage

A journalist set himself on fire outside the White House on Saturday, after publishing a blog post where he expressed remorse over his role in shaping news stories that he felt made him complicit in Israel's war on Gaza.

Samuel Mena Jr reached out to a friend three hours before setting himself on fire, telling them to watch an Instagram stream, where the journalist read from a script where he expressed regret at his perceived role in contributing to Palestinian suffering.

He then set himself on fire with images circulated online showing Mena Jr draped in a keffiyeh immersed in flames, as people ran to help him.

During the self-immolation, he screamed about "misinformation" and said: "I'm a journalist, and I said it was okay."

Moments later, police and passers-by poured water over his burning arm. He was taken to hospital for treatment for his injuries, which a DC police chief said were not life-threatening.

Mena was a news photographer for Arizona's Family, a Phoenix-based broadcast network, and was previously employed as a video editor for Point in Time Studios, with news stories he worked on aired on PBS Newshour.

"To the 10,000 children in Gaza that have lost a limb in this conflict, I give my left arm to you," he wrote in his post. "I pray my voice was able to raise yours, and that your smiles never disappear."

He also called for an end to "settler colonialism" and urged for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Arizona's Family released a statement following his self-immolation, saying Mena Jr. had been dismissed.

"Arizona’s Family expects its newsroom employees to conduct themselves with neutrality and objectivity. Mena is no longer an employee," it said.

Mena's self-immolated happened during a rally marking one year since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed almost 42,000 Palestinians.

The journalist had regularly been using his profile on X to share information and news reports on Israeli atrocities carried out in Gaza and Lebanon, with his profile photo being an image of himself in front of the Palestinian flag and the words “from the river to the sea".

His friend, Micah Warnock-Estrada, described him as a "kind person with a deeply human heart" adding "I only ask that you view Sam as human. That’s all that Sam was asking for, to see each other’s humanity".

Other Americans have also set themselves ablaze to protest the war in Gaza, some fatally.

In February, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old senior airman in the US Air Force fatally set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy and shouted: "Free Palestine".

Last month, a man reportedly died four days after setting himself on fire close to the Israeli consulate in downtown Boston.

The 45-year-old, who was later identified as Matt Nelson, published a minute-long video beforehand saying he was "about to engage in an extreme act” to protest the "ongoing genocide in Gaza".

Israel's one-year-long war on Gaza has killed over 41,900 people - most of whom were women and children - and destroyed much of the enclave, rendering large swathes of it uninhabitable.