Democratic, Republican Leaders Condemn Flag Burnings, Vandalism During Netanyahu Visit

Protesters burn an American flag outside of Union Station following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address during a joint session of Congress in Washington on July 24, 2024. (Matthew Hatcher /AFP via Getty Images)

Thousands of demonstrators gathered around the U.S. Capitol on July 24 as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.

D.C. Metropolitan Police arrested five people who chained themselves together to block an intersection near the capitol on Wednesday. A few hours later, the police department reported arresting two more demonstrators for assaulting an officer during a protest at Columbus Circle and Union Station. Police arrested two more individuals who crossed a police line after the assault.

Demonstrators in and around Union Station left behind numerous graffitied messages on a replica of the Liberty Bell and a Christopher Columbus statue. Among the messages were “Free Palestine,” “Free Gaza,” and “Stop Funding Genocide.” Other graffitied messages referred to “intifada,” an Arabic word for uprising or rebellion that has been used by Palestinians throughout the long-running Israeli–Palestinian conflict. At least one demonstrator was seen spray-painting the words “Hamas Is Comin.”

Demonstrators at Union Station also removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place, and then burned at least one U.S. flag and an effigy of Mr. Netanyahu.

The U.S. Capitol Police also reported clashing with another group of demonstrators gathered along one of the streets outside the Capitol. Police said part of the crowd “started to become violent” and said officers began using pepper spray to drive them back from a police perimeter set around the Capitol.

Political leaders on both sides of the aisle condemned the vandalism that occurred at Union Station during Mr. Netanyahu’s address.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other House Republicans gathered on Wednesday night to watch as an American flag was once again raised outside Union Station and they recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

“Earlier today, pro-Hamas protesters took down the American flags at Union Station, burned them and raised Palestinian flags. Tonight, we righted their wrong. American flags are once again flying over Union Station. We will not let the terrorist mob win,” Mr. Johnson said in a social media statement on Wednesday evening.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called for those involved to be prosecuted.

“We need to arrest every terrorist sympathizer who has vandalized federal property and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Then, we should send them to Gaza,” Ms. Blackburn wrote in a post on her official Senate X profile on Wednesday.

“Identifying with evil terrorist organizations like Hamas, burning the American flag, or forcibly removing the American flag and replacing it with another, is disgraceful. Anti-Semitism and violence are never acceptable. Period,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement on Wednesday night.

“Every American has the right to peaceful protest. But shamefully, not everyone demonstrated peacefulness today,” he added.

Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement on Thursday morning rebuking the behavior.

“I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews,” Ms. Harris said. “Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation.”

The vice president further condemned those who burned the American flag, stating, “That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way.”

“What happened at Union Station was vile, offensive, wrong,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement on Thursday. “Hamas is a terrorist organization. Exalting them and burning Union Station’s American flag is disgraceful. Defacing public property is illegal. Hateful, anti-Semitic messages and threats against Jews have no place here.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.