Pro-Palestinian protesters march outside Biden visit, promise to withhold votes

Hundreds of protesters are marching in Warren, Michigan, outside Detroit seeking to pressure visiting US President Joe Biden to end support for Israel as it fights Hamas in Gaza.

“We won’t vote on election day,” marchers chant, driving home Democratic concerns of how the administration’s stance could affect Biden’s chances of carrying the key swing state in November, home to the US’s largest concentration of Arab-Americans.

Signs accuse Israel of war crimes and repeat the “from the river to the sea” mantra viewed by many Jews as a call for the elimination of Israel.

Happening Now: Pro-Palestine protesters gathering near the location of Biden’s meeting with UAW members this afternoon in Warren, Michigan pic.twitter.com/LTR4isPUoM

— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) February 1, 2024

Activists with the “Abandon Biden” movement said earlier that demonstrators are “on standby” and that protests will be held at the president’s events once they determine the locations.

“Eventually we will find out and we will make sure to give him a proper reception,” said Khalid Turaani, co-chair of the Abandon Biden campaign in Michigan.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tells reporters that senior administration officials will travel to Michigan later in February to hear from community leaders on the conflict in Israel and Gaza.