Aaron Bushnell's friend alleges deceased airman possessed classified information on US forces in Gaza, Internet says 'we'll never know'

WASHINGTON, DC: Aaron Bushnell's friend, a US airman who passed away, shared that Bushnell had sensitive information about the US military's involvement in Gaza. This revelation has sparked extensive conversations on social media.

Bushnell garnered significant attention recently for a protest outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. On February 25, the 25-year-old immersed himself in a flammable liquid and set himself on fire, expressing his opposition to what he perceived as 'genocide' by Israel.

While many have criticized Bushnell's actions as horrifying, others online have hailed him as a hero, particularly upon learning that his final words were "Free Palestine" as he burned.

Aaron Bushnell's friend claims he had classified information

According to a friend speaking to the New York Post, Bushnell, an airman who served in the Air Force’s 70th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Wing, claimed to have secret knowledge of US troops fighting in Hamas tunnels under Gaza. This claim was made just hours before Bushnell set himself on fire in what the friend described as an "extreme act of protest" against Israel.

The friend shared that Bushnell, who also interacted with radical anarchist groups online, mentioned having "top-secret clearance" for military intelligence data during a call on Saturday night.

The friend stated, "He told me on Saturday that we have troops in those tunnels, that it’s US soldiers participating in the killings. His actual job involves the processing of intelligence data. Some of what he was processing had to do with the Israeli Gaza conflict."

Referring to Israel’s actions in Gaza, the friend conveyed "One of the things he told me is that coming across his desk … was the US military was involved in the genocides going on in Palestine. He told me that we had troops on the ground, you know, that were there and were killing large numbers of Palestinians. There’s just too many things I don’t know, but I can tell you that the tone of his voice just had something in it that told me he was scared. I’ve never heard that tone come out of him.”

According to the New York Post, the Air Force acknowledged his job title but didn't say anything about his security clearance. They didn't get back to the New York Post when asked for a comment.

The friend, who emphasized that he does not support suicide, expressed surprise at Bushnell's actions, stating, "He’s had a security clearance for four years now, and it is the only time that he has ever, as far as I know, broke protocol and gave out information that he shouldn’t have. He was frightened."

He described Bushnell as someone who never believed in suicide, stating, “He said it was against God’s plan, there’s always better solutions than suicide, suicide is not going to fix anything. So for Aaron to have done what he did, there were things that overrode that. The problems that he was looking at, he couldn’t fix. He would have made this decision to try to make it so somebody else could fix what the problem was."

Describing his reaction to Bushnell's act as reported by the New York Post, the friend expressed disbelief, stating, "My initial reaction is, ‘This can’t be real.' Suicide is not something Aaron would do. Aaron was very analytical, he would have made this kind of a decision after putting a tremendous amount of thought into it. You watch the video of him, and you see just how calm, cool and collected he is, and that is his normal personality. The most upset we would ever see him … is he would go grab an axe and chop firewood."

Internet users assert Aaron Bushnell might have had a plan to make secret information public

A user wrote, "Oh well...guess we'll never know now."

Another user wrote, "Like maybe dude who set himself on fire for reasons isn’t the most credible source of intel? Ya think?"

A user commented, "Possible. Very possible. So much is hidden from the public."

A user stated, "Rest in peace soldier, your sacrifice will not be in vain."

Another user commented, "Hopefully he had a plan to make them public."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.