Political extremism always seems to come back to Arizona.
The latest example comes from a pro-Palestinian protester who set himself on fire near the White House over the weekend.
The protester has been identified as Samuel Mena Jr., a former cameraman for Arizona’s Family KTVK 3TV and KPHO CBS 5, and a recent graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Police and bystanders quickly put the flames out, and Mena was taken to a hospital and treated for burns to his left arm.
The story has made international headlines, and so far the only person to speak up on Mena’s behalf has been a friend, Micah Warnock-Estrada, who told The Washington Post, “However you view what Sam said or did, I only ask that you view Sam as human. That’s all Sam was asking for, to see each other’s humanity.”
He no longer works for Arizona’s Family.
“Mena worked as a news photographer for KTVK/KPHO but was off duty and not in Washington on station business,” according to a brief story posted to the station’s website. “Arizona’s Family expects its newsroom employees to........