Photo: Alamy
There was a familiar scene in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday as thousands of protestors descended on the Capitol Building to demand a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war. However, the protest quickly turned violent, and at least 300 protestors were arrested for assaulting officers, according to AP.
The New York Post reported that Capitol Police had “…tightened security in advance of the protests” before “…an unspecified amount of demonstrators were arrested, including at least three on charges of assaulting a police officer.”
It was also described in the article that it was a group of a “largely progressive crowd” who had felt betrayed by Biden “backing Israel’s bid to eliminate the terrorist threat in the Gaza Strip.” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was present and instigated the crowd further by declaring, “I think the White House and everyone thinks we’re just gonna sit back and let this just continue to happen. No!”
The Jewish Voice For Peace is reportedly a Jewish pro-Palestinian group that promoted the “massive demonstration,” according to the NYP article.
Fox News reported that “thousands of demonstrators swarmed the area in and around the Cannon House Office Building on Wednesday, many wearing black T-shirts reading, ‘Jews say ceasefire now!’”
The article described the aforementioned arrests stating that Capitol Police “confirmed to Fox News that demonstrators inside the Cannon Rotunda will be charged with illegally protesting inside a House office building.”
There is a corollary article on offer by USA Today that proclaims that “U.S. House and Senate office buildings are open to the public but protests are forbidden in congressional buildings,” based on a post from the Capitol Police.
“A group of protesters are demonstrating inside the Cannon Rotunda,” the Capitol Police wrote Wednesday on X. “Demonstrations are not allowed inside Congressional Buildings.”
There have been several comparisons made to Jan. 6. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., noticed a similarity. The congresswoman posted on X, “There’s an insurrection happening now on Capitol Hill”.
Rep. Greene seems to want the people behind the protest to be held accountable. She also posted a venom-soaked diatribe against Rep. Tlaib, calling her the “Hamas Caucus Leader” and saying that Tlaib was “leading the current insurrection on Capitol Hill”.
Rep. Greene later sent a strong admonishment to the Capitol Police, stating, “I demand @CapitolPolice preserve all video footage inside and outside the Cannon House office building today. There must be an investigation into the organized breach and occupation that stopped Congress from holding a Speaker election and continuing legislative business today.”
Her declaration would bear teeth after she later posted, “I am formally requesting that the United States Capitol Police preserve all video surveillance footage, photographic evidence, police reports, and arrest records from all House Office Buildings on October 18, 2023.”
