Videos Show Pro-Palestinian Protest Erupt In Violence Outside DNC HQ

A pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington D.C. on Wednesday occurred "illegally and violently," Capitol Police have said, with video footage showing protesters clashing with officers.

Six officers were treated for minor injuries and one protester was arrested for assaulting an officer during the incident, police said. The organizers of the event said they had wanted to block the entrance to the building in order to force Democratic lawmakers, who were inside for a campaign reception, to encounter their vigil.

Clips of the protest show demonstrators locking arms as officers attempt to remove them, with at least one protester being pushed down the steps to the DNC headquarters' entrance.

Another clip shows police attempting to form a cordon and push back protesters gathered on the street. "F**k you, f**k you," one of the demonstrators screams in the face of an officer.

The protest, organized by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups, had called for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which Israel has consistently refused to do. U.S. President Joe Biden has backed humanitarian pauses, which Israeli forces began implementing at the weekend.

Capitol Police said around 150 people were responsible for the violence, and that officers had been pepper sprayed and punched.

However, the protesters blamed the police for sparking the violence, saying officers rushed them without prior warning. IfNotNow, one of the organizers, said 90 protesters were injured including "being pepper sprayed, minor cuts, dragged by the hair," as well as some being "choked and violently handled" by officers.

"It is shameful the way that nonviolent protesters and members of our community were met with violence tonight," Dani Noble, one of the demonstrators, told The Associated Press. "It is absolutely shameful."

Newsweek approached Capitol Police via email for further comment on Thursday.

Capitol Police said that as of 10 p.m. ET the protest had dispersed, but that officers would remain at the scene "out of an abundance of caution."

Brad Sherman, a Democratic congressman for California, said that he was among the lawmakers in the DNC headquarters meeting party candidates. He told CNN that the building was locked down as a result of the demonstration and that the Capitol Police "did an outstanding job and evacuated us through the basement" and then in police cars back to the Capitol.

"Yesterday, there were over 200,000 pro-Israel demonstrators, with a permit, [who were] entirely peaceful," he said, referencing the March for Israel, which was held on the National Mall on Tuesday. "Here you have a demonstration, less than one thousandth as large, that's also getting publicity...because of their willingness to attack police."

Since around 1,500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people, including many civilians, Israel has conducted an intensive campaign of airstrikes on Gaza and a subsequent ground offensive, with the objective of eliminating Hamas, which runs the territory. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 11,200 Palestinians have been killed.

Israel's intervention in Gaza has sparked widespread pro-Palestinian protests across the globe and in the U.S., many of which have called for a ceasefire. In some cases, these have spilled over into expressions of support for Hamas' actions and overt antisemitic threats—which the March for Israel was partly aimed at countering.

Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, associated with another organizer, Jewish Voice for Peace, who recently heckled Biden during an event in Minnesota about a ceasefire, was identified as one of the participants of Wednesday's demonstration.

She told AP that Democratic leaders were "not listening to the people they claim to represent" and, as such, "actions like this are only going to increase."

While support among Democrat voters has shifted away from Israel and toward Palestine, a large proportion of Americans still support Israel, recent polling has found.

However, a Reuters/Ipsos survey of 1,006 U.S. adults conducted on November 13-14 found a majority support Israel calling a ceasefire and attempting to seek a negotiated settlement.

Update 11/16/23, 6:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with further details.

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