Several protesters from anti-Israel demos in Washington facing federal charges
US media reports that eight individuals are suspected of attempting to carry dangerous weapon, attempted theft and assaulting a police officer
Several protesters at the anti-Israel demonstrations at Union Station in Washington on Wednesday are facing federal charges, including of assault and carrying a weapon, US media reported Friday.
Eight out of the 23 people arrested in the protest of thousands face federal crime charges.
Three people were charged with attempting to carry a dangerous weapon, three with attempted theft, one with two counts of assault on a police officer, and one with threats related to the protest, Fox reported.
Less serious charges against other detainees have reportedly been dropped, but more charges could be coming, according to law enforcement officials.
According to The Washington Examiner, a third person arrested for assault was a 15-year-old and will likely not be charged.
The protest, which was held in opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, featured antisemitic and pro-Hamas slogans and signs, the vandalism of property, the torching of an effigy of Netanyahu, and the burning of an American flag.
Several protesters waved Hamas flags and wore the inverted red triangle Hamas uses to identify targets for its violence. One man waved a placard, “Allah is gathering all the Zionists for the ‘Final Solution,’” a reference to the Holocaust.
Following Netanyahu’s speech, some of the demonstrators gathered in front of Union Station. They hoisted Palestinian flags outside the iconic train station, burned American flags and spray-painted the words “Hamas is coming” and “Free Gaza” on a large monument.
The reports said no charges have so far been filed for destroying government property.
The pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators filled several blocks as they weaved through the streets of the nation’s capital carrying Palestinian flags, pro-Hamas flags and placards, and signs with messages such as “arrest Netanyahu” and “end all US aid to Israel.”
In other acts of protest surrounding Netanyahu’s trip to Washington, anti-Israel activists released maggots, worms and crickets onto a table and carpeting at the Watergate Hotel being used by the visiting delegation.
The activists also set off fire alarms at the hotel throughout the night, according to posts on social media, in an attempt to disrupt Netanyahu on the night before his address to Congress.
Some criticized police conduct at the protest, saying there should have been more arrests.
“How many more times are they going to allow leftist degenerates who support terrorism and hate America to vandalize property and attack police?” US Senator Marco Rubio wrote on X. “There should have been hundreds of arrests today in DC not just 23.”
Kenneth Spencer, chairman of the United States Park Police Fraternal Order of Police, responded to the criticism in a statement: “Our officers on the ground did everything they could to protect life and property. In fact, despite having only 29 officers available to mitigate damage — 29! — with no additional help from the Department of the Interior, we processed several arrests for charges ranging from assault on a police officer to destruction of government property.”
“That’s why it’s so disheartening to hear some members of Congress and members of the media, many of whom describe themselves as ‘champions’ of law enforcement, suggesting that officers gave protesters a ‘pass’ or that insufficient arrests were made.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who truly cares to understand the problem would see that our officer staffing crisis is at the root of our agency’s mission readiness. A small unit of 29 officers arrested 10 individuals while being assaulted by a mob of thousands. We simply did not have the staffing or resources to accomplish a mass arrest operation.”
Netanyahu’s speech came as Israel works to consolidate US support for its ongoing war against the terror group Hamas.
War broke out on October 7 when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 39,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 330.
