At Least Two Arrests Following Violent Anti-Israel Protests Around White House
The individuals were ‘arrested for assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct,’ police tell the Sun.
Two individuals were arrested during a large anti-Israel protest in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, the Sun has confirmed.
The United States Park Police tell the Sun the individuals “were both arrested for assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct in the 1300 Block of Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest at around 3:30 on Saturday.”
The protest, as the Sun reported over the weekend, was part of a global day of protest marking 100 days since the start of the war. Video footage of the protests included protesters violently shaking the fences outside the White House, shouting expletives at President Biden, and throwing items at Secret Service agents and National Park Police.
The D.C. Metropolitan police said in a statement over the weekend that “violence, destructive behavior, and criminal activities” would not be tolerated.
“While a majority of today’s demonstration remained peaceful, there were instances of illegal and destructive behavior in Lafayette Park, including items being thrown at our officers,” the police department’s chief, Pamela Smith, said on Saturday. “We are supporting our partners at the United States Park Police as they investigate and hold those found responsible accountable for their actions.”
When asked by the Sun what the police were doing specifically to support investigations into the protest, the D.C. police department referred the Sun to the Park Police. The Park Police declined to offer further details about its investigations, but said if anyone has information they can contact the agency’s tipline at 202-379-4877.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, America’s largest Muslim civil rights group and an organizer of the protest, told the Sun that “acts of vandalism are completely antithetical to peaceful protest.
“The small number of unidentified actors who engaged in such conduct after the March on Washington for Gaza ended do not represent the 400,000 marchers who peacefully called on the Biden administration to end its support for the Netanyahu government’s ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the organization’s deputy executive director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said.
