A man who described himself as a “journalist” and “visual storyteller" attempted to set himself on fire during a pro-Palestinian protest in front of the White House on Saturday.
images and videos with X A chaotic scene of a man believed to be Samuel Mena Jr. setting his arm on fire was captured at Lafayette Park, where a large number of protesters had gathered. Bystanders and police rushed to put out the fire as Mena screamed in pain.
“I’m a journalist, so I said okay,” Mena can be heard screaming in one of the videos. Shortly after the fire was extinguished, Mena's arm appeared to have suffered severe burns.
about him X profile“I’ll be going live from outside the White House on Instagram Live in 30 minutes. The first 30 minutes will be spent technical troubleshooting and I’ll be speaking an hour from now,” Mena tweeted Saturday. @SamuelMenaJr. ”
Hours earlier, he tweeted: “End settler colonialism,” along with a photo of himself smiling in front of a Palestinian flag.
Mena’s profile says he is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and is currently “employed as a production assistant as a photojournalist for AZ Family Channels 3 and 5.”
