On Friday, a man attempted to set himself on fire outside of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The man, now identified as 50-year-old climate activist Wynn Alan Bruce, has passed away due to his injuries.
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Bruce suffered critical burns and was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Saturday.
PICTURED: Climate activist, 50, who died after lighting himself ablaze in front of the Supreme Court on Earth Day https://t.co/YN6vnAJvRO
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) April 24, 2022
Climate activist dies after setting himself on fire outside of Supreme Court building on Earth Day.https://t.co/RYL2BHDEhT pic.twitter.com/Rrq8rEAD7u
— Jazz Shaw (@JazzShaw) April 24, 2022
On Friday, Earth Day, a man now identified as Wynn Alan Bruce set himself on fire outside the Supreme Court, and he passed away Saturday.
Bruce was a Buddhist climate activist, who appeared to edit an old comment on a climate change story in anticipation of this action. pic.twitter.com/pCx6xb9MmI
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) April 24, 2022
Fox News reported:
The man who tried to set himself on fire in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday has died, Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to Fox News on Saturday.
He was identified as 50-year-old Wynn Bruce, from Boulder, Colorado.
Emergency medical crews were called to the Supreme Court around 6:30 p.m. ET.
Bruce was rushed by medical helicopter to a local hospital.
Video from Fox News' Chad Pergram showed the moment the helicopter landed near the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. Capitol Police said then the helicopter landed near the Capitol for a "medical emergency."
Park Service helicopter lands on steps of Supreme Court after man tries to set himself on fire pic.twitter.com/jVEsgvEyas
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 22, 2022
Daily Mail provided additional background:
On October 30, 2020, he shared a link to an online class on climate change offered by edX, a free online course platform created by Harvard and MIT.
Last April, he went back and commented: '4-1-1 4/22/2022,' along with a fire emoji.
Surveillance footage of the immediate aftermath of the fire show police officers as they attempt to calm Bruce, who can be heard screaming in the background.
Police are still investigating a motive, but a Buddhist priest from Boulder took to Twitter to clarify that Bruce's death was not a suicide, but a 'deeply fearless act of compassion.'
'This guy was my friend. He meditated with our sangha. This act is not suicide,' said Zen priest Sensei Kritee Kanko.
'This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to climate crisis. We are piecing together info but he had been planning it for atleast one year. #wynnbruce I am so moved.'
Bruce's Facebook page has since been inundated with comments both praising his actions and criticizing his way of bringing attention to his cause.
'How can you solve the climate crisis when you leave in the middle of the fight. Now you can’t do anything to be helpful,' one person commented.
Another wrote: 'I see he was a fighter for his beliefs and that may have contributed to this tragedy.'
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