Newsman: Thousands of demonstrators chanting “free Palestine,” “stop bombing Gaza,” and “Netanyahu you can’t hide” gathered Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol building to protest the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to discourage Congress from further funding Israel’s war in Gaza.
Protesters had occupied parts of the U.S. Capitol complex on Tuesday and did so again on Wednesday ahead of Netanyahu’s speech. U.S. Capitol Police warned that it could draw “a large number of demonstrators.”
On Wednesday, police used pepper spray to disperse crowds of protesters outside the Capitol. The Metropolitan Police Department said at least five people were arrested for obstruction.
The protests began Tuesday, when Capitol Police said about 200 demonstrators were arrested for “crowding, obstructing or incommoding” inside the Cannon House Office Building. Protesters demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s hotel Tuesday night, chanting, waving Palestinian flags and projecting an image of Netanyahu onto the building captioned with the words “WANTED” and “ARREST NETANYAHU.”
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein spoke to a crowd that stretched for several blocks in front of the Capitol, one of multiple protests against Netanyahu and the war across Washington. Stein, in a comment directed at lawmakers, said, “How dare you invite this criminal,” and called for a cease-fire.“We will free Palestine together,” she said to a roar of cheers and applause from a crowd in the thousands.
Photos and videos posted to social media showed a sketch of Netanyahu’s face projected onto the hotel building Wednesday night, accompanied with the words: “WANTED” and “ARREST WAR CRIMINAL NETANYAHU,” as protesters waved Palestinian flags and played music.
U.S. Capitol Police later said six people were removed from the House Galleries and arrested. “Disrupting the Congress and demonstrating in the Congressional Buildings is against the law,” police said. Johnson had threatened to have anyone who tried to disrupt the speech arrested. There were no disruptions on the House floor during the address.
In the middle of the Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu’s speech, Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the first Palestinian woman to serve in Congress, held up a small black-and-white sign at Netanyahu that read: “War criminal” and “Guilty of genocide.”
At one point, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and later a House security official, appeared to try to get Tlaib to take down her sign. But she continued to raise it throughout the speech.
Capitol Police also escorted three people out of the chamber who were wearing yellow T-shirts reading “SEAL THE DEAL NOW,” likely a reference to a cease-fire agreement. They were put in zip-tie cuffs and taken away.
Police said six people from the chamber were arrested. Outside, Capitol Police deployed pepper spray on protesters.
Capitol police said in a statement that demonstrations are not allowed inside congressional buildings.
“We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested,” the statement said. “They did not stop, so we are arresting them.”
Outside, U.S. Capitol Police claimed part of the crowd had “become violent” on Wednesday. The police said in a statement that they had to take action after a crowd at First Street and Constitution Avenue NW “failed to obey our order to move back from our police line.”
“We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” the police said roughly 20 minutes before Netanyahu’s speech started. Capitol Police deployed pepper spray to some of the protesters, saying “part of the crowd has started to become violent.” Outside Union Station, demonstrators burned at least one U.S. flag and replaced the ones flying at Columbus Circle with Palestinian flags before authorities removed those.
Several hundred protesters gathered in the early afternoon at Union Station Plaza, just a short walk from the Capitol, and some of them replaced American flags flying there with Palestinian ones. Witnesses said at least one of the American flags was burned.
Demonstrators also spray-painted “FREE GAZA” on multiple statues in the square, also known as Columbus Circle, as well over 100 police officers guarded the station. A couple of hours later, the Palestinian flags were brought down.
Seven labor unions totaling millions of members sent a letter Tuesday to the White House demanding a truce in Gaza and for the U.S. to stop supplying weapons to Israel. The signatories included the Association of Flight Attendants, American Postal Workers Union, International Union of Painters, National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, United Electrical Workers and United Auto Workers.
The United Auto Workers is based in Michigan, home to the biggest percentage and second largest number of Arab Americans in the country. Michigan is also considered one of a handful of crucial “swing states” that could tip the 2024 presidential election.
“Workers, students, and people from all walks of life will be at the Capitol (on Wednesday) to issue a warrant of arrest to war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu,” the group said in a social media post. “We will see you there! Don’t miss this!”
In addition, several aid groups and other organizations have partnered to launch a mobile billboard that will drive around Washington on Wednesday with the message: “No more bombs for Netanyahu.”
The Capitol Police said it had put enhanced security measures in place for potential protests and also swore in more than 200 New York police officers to assist this week in Washington, according to Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry, who shared a video of the swearing-in on X.
The department had erected the same fencing around the Capitol that was used after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack in anticipation of demonstrations on Tuesday.
Former senior Israeli security officials voiced opposition to Netanyahu’s speaking before Congress
More than two dozen former senior officials who worked in Israel’s security establishment — like the Mossad and Shin Bet — and Israeli businesses also voiced opposition to Netanyahu’s speaking before Congress. In a letter addressed to congressional leaders according to the American news channel NBC News. The letter obtained Tuesday by the NBC News they said they have “grave concerns” about the “damage” Netanyahu’s visit will do to the U.S. and Israel’s joint objectives. The letter’s signers include former Mossad Director Tamir Pardo, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz, among others, some of whom worked under Netanyahu’s leadership.
