A climate activist who set himself on fire on Earth Day previously shared an eerie premonition about his death.
Wynn Bruce, 50, lit himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court in Washington DC at about 6.30pm local time on Friday.
The Buddhist, from Boulder, Colorado, suffered critical burns and died the next day.
On October 30, 2020, Wynn shared a link on Facebook to an online class on climate change offered by edX, which is the free online course platform created by Harvard and MIT.
In April 2021, he went back to the 2020 post and commented: "4-1-1 4/22/2022" with a fire emoji.
CCTV from the scene shows police trying to calm Wynn as he is heard screaming in the background.
Police are still investigating the motive.
A Buddhist priest from the same area as Wynn has shared on Twitter it was not a suicide, but a "deeply fearless act of compassion".
Zen priest Sensei Kritee Kanko wrote: "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 are piecing together info but he had been planning it for at least one year. #wynnbruce I am so moved."
Wynn's Facebook page has reportedly been flooded with comments both praising and criticising his actions.
One wrote: "How can you solve the climate crisis when you leave in the middle of the fight. Now you can’t do anything to be helpful."
Another added: "I see he was a fighter for his beliefs and that may have contributed to this tragedy."
Supreme Court police, Capitol Police and Metropolitan DC police all responded to the incident.
Two roads were temporarily shut as helicopter paramedics tended to the medical emergency.
The incident was "not a public safety issue", authorities said.
In 2019, another man set himself on fire and walked near the White House as cops tried to put out the flames.
He was later identified as Arnav Gupta and died of his injuries the following day.
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