Agitators burn US flags

(JNS) - Anti-Israel protesters violently confronted Capitol Hill police and burned the American flag in front of Union Station on Wednesday afternoon during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hour-long address to Congress.

In what the event organizers described as a protest to "Arrest Netanyahu: Surround the Capitol," thousands of attendees rallied at the intersection of Third Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. In their permit for the event submitted to the U.S. Park Police and obtained by JNS, the Answer Coalition estimated some 5,000 total participants.

Speakers included former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein; a leader of the D.C.-area branch of Students for Justice in Palestine who was referred to as "Noor"; and the presidential candidate of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Communist party that calls for a revolution to overthrow capitalism.

Organizers occasionally updated the crowd with claims about how many intersections throughout the city had been "claimed by the people" as miles of central Washington were closed off to traffic amid a significant police presence.

After several hours of speeches denouncing Israel, Zionism, capitalism, the U.S. government, U.S. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Congress and the American university system, coupled with call-and-repeat chants with the crowd that included "From the River to the Sea," rally-goers marched along Constitution Avenue to the north of the Capitol.

While most of the crowd proceeded peacefully, a significant portion confronted the U.S. Capitol Police in an attempt to cross police barriers surrounding the building.

"Part of the crowd has started to become violent at First Street and Constitution Avenue, NW," stated the U.S. Capitol Police shortly before Netanyahu began his 2 p.m. address. "The crowd 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."

JNS heard a loud, explosive bang near that intersection around the same time that briefly panicked parts of the crowd, which included both families with small children as well as protesters wearing gas masks and body armor in apparent anticipation of clashes with the police.

A police officer from the New York City Police Department guarding the Capitol told JNS that the sound came from police firing tear gas in response to clashes with protesters. He did not know if any arrests had been made. 

More than 200 members of the New York City Police Department were sworn in as U.S. Capitol Police special officers alongside other law enforcement from the D.C. area to supplement security during Netanyahu's visit.

'Confronting law enforcement on scene

Unconfirmed video on social media shows protesters throwing bottles and other objects at police at the intersection, and the police responding with pepper spray and firing at least one round of tear gas into the crowd.

Protesters also confronted a small group of pro-Israel counter-demonstrators along the route, berating them with expletives, staring them down and throwing at least one water bottle at them. Police officers were likewise hailed with expletives and rude gestures by a significant number of marchers.

The demonstration reached its conclusion at Columbus Circle in front of Union Station. Video on social media shows protesters bringing down the three U.S. flags in the plaza and replacing them with Palestinian flags. Some shouted Allahu Akbar ("God is great") as they lit fire to at least one of the American flags. Netanyahu was also burned in effigy.

"A crowd in Columbus Circle is engaged in criminal activity and confronting law enforcement on scene," the U.S. Park Police wrote. "USPP is attempting to de-escalate and contact the event organizer for help."

It later added that the permit for the rally had been revoked and ordered demonstrators to leave.

During the afternoon march, JNS spotted explicitly pro-Hamas and pro-terrorism messages, including the flags of Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-the red triangle logos Hamas uses in its social-media posts to designate targets-as well as Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades headbands.