Olson carried a manifesto and a letter to Congress, police said, adding, ‘The letter was focused on the man’s opinions on the war in the Middle East.’

By Andrew Lapin, JTA

A Michigan man carrying a flare gun, a torch lighter, two bottles of fuel and a manifesto angry with the government’s response to the Israel-Hamas war was arrested at the United States Capitol Visitor Center on Election Day, police said.

The man, 28-year-old Austin M. Olson of the Detroit suburb of Westland, was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, unlawful activities, and disorderly conduct.

In a release, U.S. Capitol Police noted he “also smelled like he doused part of his clothing with fuel.”

Olson carried a manifesto and a letter for Congress, police said, adding, “The letter was focused on the man’s opinions on the war in the Middle East.”

Officials told the New York Times that the letter “appeared to claim that he was protesting the war in Gaza and the United States’ relationship with Israel.”

The evidence suggested that Olson might have been planning to self-immolate, a form of protest that at least three other people have carried out in the U.S. in connection with the war in Gaza.

In February a U.S. airman died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., while shouting “Free Palestine.”

The man, Aaron Bushnell, had posted a video online declaring he “will no longer be complicit in genocide” and became a folk hero among some pro-Palestinian activists.

Bushnell’s death came nearly three months after a still-unknown protester engaged in a similar act at the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, where she suffered critical injuries.

And a man was severely injured after lighting himself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Boston in September.

In the latest incident, the Times reported that a man who appeared to be Olson had an extensive record of political videos posted to YouTube and the far-right website Rumble, the last one of which he expressed his desire to be a martyr: “If my persecution and death means the truth lives, I’ll pick up my cross.”

On the social network Threads, the Anti-Defamation League gave a further breakdown of Olson’s views on Jews and Israel.

“He expresses a variety of antisemitic, anti-Israel & anti-government views, alleging that elected leaders serve the interests of Israel over the American people,” the ADL wrote, citing a quote from Olson:

“The problem is Israel; the problem is you. You have been bought and we have been sold into slavery and called it capitalism. Israel controls our media, our corporations, they control you and they own us.”

The ADL’s Center on Extremism also noted that Olson’s account on the social network X “expressed a range of far-right tropes and antisemitic views, including endorsing the Great Replacement Theory and the antisemitic myth of deicide.”

Police did not release additional details about the manifesto’s contents. Olson had driven all night from Michigan to Washington, D.C., the night before.

During a press conference immediately after the arrest, chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters that the suspect’s interest “may have” been the war, but added there was “no indication right now that it had anything to do with the election.”

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Prior to the incident, Mena announced on X that he would be ‘streaming live from the White House exterior’ and would ‘give a speech.’

By Jessica Costescu, The Washington Free Beacon

A CBS-affiliated journalist based in Arizona set himself on fire at an anti-Israel protest held in front of the White House on Saturday.

“To the 10 thousand children in Gaza that have lost a limb in this conflict, I give my left arm to you,” the journalist, Samuel Mena Jr., wrote in a letter published to his website.

Mena identified himself as a “general assignment news videographer” for AZFamily, a group of three local TV stations in Phoenix owned by Gray Television. One of those stations, KPHO, is affiliated with CBS.

At approximately 6 p.m. Saturday, a Washington Free Beacon reporter on the scene witnessed Mena with his left arm ablaze. Police and other protesters rushed to him, dousing his arm with water and covering it with a keffiyeh to put out the flames.

Once the fire was extinguished, Mena could be heard screaming “We spread the misinformation” and “I’m a journalist, and I said it was ok.”

He was then transported to a nearby hospital for “treatment of non-life threatening injuries,” Washington Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Tom Lynch told the Free Beacon.

AZFamily released a statement confirming Mena’s work for the network. Mena was “off duty” on Saturday and is “no longer an employee,” the network said.

Prior to the incident, Mena announced on X that he would be “streaming live from the White House exterior” and would “give a speech.” He also posted a picture of himself with a Palestinian flag alongside the caption “end settler colonialism.”

On his personal website, meanwhile, Mena published a lengthy and jumbled letter detailing his intent to “demonstrate with as much of my conviction as I possibly can” his opposition to what he called “settler colonialism” and “genocide” in Gaza.

“A GENOCIDE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IS OCCURRING AT THE HANDS OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND AMERICA HAS FINANCED IT WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS,” Mena wrote.

“I, personally, call upon every world leader in every corner and pocket, of this green earth, to wake up and realize that the clock is ticking, not only for this planet, but also for the comfortability and security you think you enjoy.”

“Unify with the rest of the world, and come up with an immediate plan to end settler colonialism as it exists today, and heal the planet.”

“To the 10 thousand children in Gaza that have lost a limb in this conflict, I give my left arm to you,” Mena concluded. “I pray my voice was able to raise up yours, and that your smiles never disappear.”

In his letter, Mena also warned that the “planet has less than 5 years before it reaches the global heat threshold.”

“The next president of the United States term in office will be 4 years long,” he wrote. “Do you understand what is truly at stake?”

Saturday’s Washington, D.C., protest was part of an “International Day of Action” meant to celebrate “one year of resistance” since Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack.

During the demonstration, keffiyeh-clad protesters blocked traffic for several hours and chanted, “There is only one solution,” “All power to the resistance,” and “Zionism’s got to go.”

Protesters also waved the flag of Hamas, wore Hamas headbands, held up a framed picture of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and set off smoke bombs.

The post ‘I give my left arm to you’: CBS-affiliated journalist sets himself on fire at anti-Israel protest, citing ‘settler colonialism’ in Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.