Protestor lights arm on fire during Anti-Israel demonstration in DC

Anti-Israel protests have taken root in cities across the country in recent months, but one such demonstration in the nation's capital this weekend made headlines for an especially horrific reason.

As the New York Post reports, a photojournalist named Samuel Mena, Jr. displayed his support for the Palestinian cause by setting his own arm on fire near Lafayette Park, just a stone's throw away from the White House, prompting a swift security response from local police.

Bizarre scene unfolds in DC

Fellow protesters and bystanders alike were caught off guard when Mena lit the fire that quickly engulfed his left arm and then raised it high for all to see.

It did not take long for shocked onlookers to begin throwing water on the flames and attempting to smother the blaze with garments they had on hand.

Emergency responders arrived on the scene and took Mena to an area hospital, where he received treatment for what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Mena was heard loudly declaring himself to be a journalist while D.C. Metro police officers swooped in to restrain him in the immediate aftermath of the apparent attempt at self-immolation.

According to reports, Mena graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and had worked for AZFamily, a local CBS affiliate station, for the past two years.

Blog post foreshadows event

Mena had reportedly posted a lengthy missive to his blog ahead of the startling chain of events near Lafayette Park, lamenting what he believes is imbalanced media coverage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Offering what turned out to be a preview of what was to come, Mena wrote, “To the 10 thousand children in Gaza that have lost a limb in this conflict, I give my left arm to you.”

He continued, “I pray my voice was able to raise up yours, and that your smiles never disappear.”

Unsettling mode of protest

Mena's gesture of discontent was, sadly, not the first instance of attempted self-immolation seen this year, with a man having set himself alight in April outside the New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump faced a criminal trial, as ABC News noted at the time.

The man involved in that event, Maxwell Azzarello, suffered far more severe burns than Mena did, and he ultimately died from his injuries.