Air Force Veteran Who Set Himself on Fire to Protest VA Dies

John Michael Watts died Monday after suffering third-degree burns from lighting himself on fire in downtown Atlanta last week, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Before he died, the 58-year-old Air Force veteran told investigators he was protesting treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Watts suffered burns on over 85 percent of his body after he strapped a homemade incendiary device and fireworks to his chest, poured flammable liquid over his body, and lit himself on fire last Tuesday morning, authorities said. He also had a message scrawled on a piece of cardboard with a phone number he asked people to call, but he told officials last week to not call the number, warning that it could set off another device. GBI removed other devices from the veteran’s Nissan Sentra, shut down the city, and evacuated buildings after the explosion. The VA has faced criticism for long wait times and unsatisfactory care. In 2016, another veteran died after setting himself on fire outside of a VA clinic in New Jersey.