Why Did Cops Point a Gun at a Burning Gaza Protester?

As Bushnell burst into flames and began screaming in pain, a voice off-screen aggressively ordered Bushnell to get "on the ground" over and over again. Then two Secret Service agents ran into the frame, one of them spraying Bushnell with a fire extinguisher, another pointing his gun at the burning man.

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The agent with the fire extinguisher began to argue with his colleagues off-screen. He wanted more fire extinguishers for Bushnell, who was still on fire. ...

U.S. Secret Service Communications Chief Anthony Guglielmi insisted in a statement to Reason that "this situation was unpredictable and occurred rapidly. In that instant, the level of threat to the public and the embassy was unknown, and our officers acted swiftly and professionally." The video shows that the situation did unfold rapidly, but it's hard to imagine that Bushnell posed much of a threat.

Ed Morrissey

It's not all that hard to imagine, is it? Bushnell could have had an explosive device or a firearm, and the point is that the agents involved didn't know he didn't. They only had one fire extinguisher initially until other agents brought more, so the second agent protected the first in a manner consistent with his training. The question may be worth asking in an academic sense, but let me ask this in response: did it do any harm to Bushnell that Bushnell didn't already do to himself?

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