Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday denounced pro-Palestinian protesters who defaced public property outside Union Station, saying their concerns about the war in Gaza are not justification for “support for terrorism.”
“Great concern about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza cannot justify defacing federal property with Hamas slogans,” Buttigieg said. wrote in a post on X Thursday. “Passionate differences are grounds for fierce debate and meaningful protest, not intimidation and certainly not support for terrorism.”
Buttigieg’s brief statement made no mention of flag burning at the protests, which has drawn ire from Republicans and some Democrats since Wednesday afternoon.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered around the Capitol on Wednesday in protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and his speech to Congress.
Calling for Netanyahu’s arrest, a group of protesters lowered and then burned two US flags outside Union Station, just blocks from the Capitol. Protesters raised smaller Palestinian flags in its place.
The Freedom Bell, a double-scale replica of the Liberty Bell, was also graffiti with anti-Israel slogans outside Union Station. About another monument Outside the train station, someone wrote “Hamas is coming.”
The US Park Police, DC Metropolitan Police, and New York Police Department (NYPD) responded to the protest at Columbia Circle and asked protesters to disperse after clashes with police.
Metropolitan Police confirmed Thursday that four people were arrested in Columbus Circle, while U.S. Park Police took at least eight people into custody. O Washington Post reported that 23 arrests were made throughout the day in anti-Netanyahu protests.
The Hill has reached out to the U.S. Park Police for further comment.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) similarly condemned the unrest, calling it “not acceptable.”
“Defacing public property, desecrating the American flag, threatening Jews with violence, and promoting terrorist groups like Hamas are not acceptable under any circumstances,” Jeffries wrote in a statement Thursday morning.
“There is a difference between legal expression and disorderly conduct. Anyone who violates the law must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” she added.
During his speech earlier in the afternoon, Netanyahu denounced the demonstrations at the Capitol and on university campuses earlier this year. He said his critics were “up to no good,” should be “ashamed of themselves” and were “useful idiots” for Iran.
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