Wynn Alan Brucea 50-year-old climate activist who set himself on fire in the nation’s highest court, the Supreme Court, on Earth Day, died on April 23, 2022.
He acted to protest inaction on the climate change issue in Washington, D.C. He was airlifted and admitted to hospital for treatment but could not survive.
The unfortunate incident happened at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Bruce’s friend Kritee Kanko said on social media that it was a pre-planned protest.
She wrote on Twitter: “This guy was my friend. He meditated with our sangha. This act is not suicide. This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to the climate crisis We’re gathering information, but he had been planning it for at least a year #wynnbruce I’m so emotional.
This guy was my friend. He meditated with our sangha. This act is not suicide. This is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to the climate crisis. We’re gathering information, but he had been planning it for at least a year. #wynnbruce I am so affected. https://t.co/bHoRaLK6Fr
— Dr. K. Kritee (@KriteeKanko) April 24, 2022
Let’s go into more detail about the climate activist in our article below!
Youth and education
Wynn Alan Bruce was born in 1972. He studied at Front Range Community College and Community College of Denver. He started his own studio, Bright And True Photography, and worked there until his death.
Previously, he studied photography at Metropolitan State University in Denver. He was a photojournalist from Colorado.
Private life
There is not much information available in the public domain about his personal life like his family, wife, children etc. However, he has a 42-year-old half-brother called Eric. Bruce had been living in Boulder for over two decades now. He identifies as a Buddhist.
Association with the Boulder Shambhala Center
Wynn Bruce was a member of the Boulder Shambhala Center, known for promoting the Buddhist spiritual principle of mindfulness meditation to “build an enlightened society.” His social media handle is full of messages related to climate change and Buddhism. He shared the teachings of Shambhala Buddhism on his Facebook page.
Two years ago, Bruce released a free educational course in October 2020 on climate change. After a year, he added a comment to that post saying “4-1-1,” in 2021. It was referring to the directory assistance phone number used by citizens to request information.
Plan the day to immolate
Last year, he added a fire emoji to this comment according to publicly available digital fingerprints. This month, on April 2, Bruce added the date he will set himself on fire, saying “4-1-1 (fire emoji) 4/22/2022.” Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22.
Bruce was trying to imitate Vietnamese monks by setting himself on fire. During the Vietnam War, Vietnamese monks protested by burning themselves to death. His Facebook page commemorated the death of Thich Nhat Hanh, a prominent Zen Buddhist master and anti-war activist who died in January.
Dr K Kritee, a Buddhist priest from Boulder, confirmed that Mr Bruce had planned to burn himself for at least twelve months.
In late February, the US Supreme Court heard arguments on a critical environmental issue that could curtail or even remove the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to control pollution.
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