FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 24, 2026
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Bay Area Joins a Coalition of Peace Organizations to Hold Memorial Demonstration for U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell
SAN FRANCISCO – CODEPINK Bay Area, in collaboration with Noisemakers Against Genocide, Veterans for Peace San Francisco and Monterey chapters, and the Revolutionary Love Brigade, will host a memorial demonstration on Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m. outside the Israeli Consulate at 456 Montgomery St., San Francisco, to honor U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell on the second anniversary of his self-immolation.
Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty U.S. Air Force member, set himself on fire on Feb. 25, 2024, in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., protesting U.S. involvement in Israel's genocide in Gaza. His final words, "Free Palestine," were captured in a live-streamed video.
"We are gathering to honor the memory and courage of US Airman Aaron Bushnell on the 2nd Anniversary of his self-immolation and death in protest of US complicity in genocide at the Israeli Consulate in SF. The Israeli Consulate is not welcome in San Francisco. The Israeli genocide, murder, occupation, and forced starvation are still happening in Palestine. We cannot let it continue." Cynthia Papermaster, CODEPINK organizer.
The demonstration aims to honor Bushnell's memory and protest the continuation of the genocide in Gaza despite the ceasefire and the growing violence in the West Bank. Justin Loza, president of the Monterey Chapter of Veterans for Peace, will publicly read Bushnell's last words during the event.
For more information, contact Cynthia Papermaster at [email protected].
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