DNC HQ Evacuated As Police Clash With Protestors Demanding Cease-Fire
OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:50 PM – Thursday, November 16, 2023
SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/dnc-hq-evacuated-as-police-clash-with-protestors-demanding-cease-fire/;
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
Authorities have clashed with protestors demanding a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas-Gaza conflict outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
On Wednesday, law enforcement arrested hundreds of protesters demanding a cease-fire in the Hamas-Israel war outside the DNC Washington headquarters.
According to authorities, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Representative Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) were among those inside the headquarters as the clash between protesters and police sparked.
United States Capitol Police said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that a “large group of illegal protesters…have cleared out, but USCP officers will stay on scene out of an abundance of caution.”
They previously put the number of demonstrators at about 150 and said they were “violently protesting in the area.”
Six officers were treated for injuries as a result of the demonstration, and one person was arrested and accused of assault on an officer, Capitol Police said on X.
According to Capitol Police, all lawmakers were evacuated from the location for their protection.
IfNotNow, an organization that bills itself as “American Jews organizing our community to end U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid system,” stated it was present at the rally and accused officers of being harsh toward protestors.
IfNotNow spokesperson Eva Borgwardt released a statement saying the protest was “nonviolent” and a “moral act of civil disobedience to call on Democrats to support a cease-fire and an end to our government’s funding of violence against Palestinian civilians by Netanyahu’s far-right government.”
Representative Sean Casten (D-Ill.), posted on X that he was “rescued” from the DNC building by “armed officers” who “did not know the protestors’ intent; they knew only that Members of Congress were inside, could not leave and that protests would not let police through.”
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Chaos at DNC HQ When Pro-Palestinian Rioters Attempt to Break In
Chaos erupted outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters Wednesday evening when pro-Palestinian protesters became violent as they called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) estimated that approximately 150 people were "illegally and violently protesting" near the DNC headquarters on Capitol Hill.
Six officers were injured during the melee, according to the USCP, with either minor cuts, pepper-spray burns, or being attacked by rioters.
CNN reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, and Rep. Pete Aguilar were inside the building at the time of the riot, and had to be evacuated.
Around 150 officers and a minimum of 50 police cruisers from The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were also on the scene. Videos of the chaos were shared on social media.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) reported that the situation was so bad that the Capitol went into lockdown.
The violent mob of pro-Palestinian rioters stands in contrast to the peaceful March for Israel that took place on the National Mall a day prior.
Ask yourself why.