Pro-Palestine protesters took over part of the Capitol on Wednesday. The group first gathered outside Congress to listen to guest speakers, including Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, which led to some people violently entering the Cannon House office building.
It all started at noon when the protests organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow began. Moments later, Congresswomen Bush and Talib, part of The Squad, in their respective speeches, continued anti-Israel rhetoric and criticized Joe Biden for helping Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
"The root of violence is oppression, and we're here to say no in our names, We have the power to stop the ongoing atrocities against Palestinians. We refuse to standby as the Israeli government commits genocide against Palestinians in Gaza," JVP posted on his X account, formerly known as Twitter.
HAPPENING NOW: Capitol Police rip down signs in the Rotunda, trying to control the anti-Israel protest. pic.twitter.com/fQF1raJCaQ
— Anthony Hughes OAN (@CallMeAntwan) October 18, 2023
Once inside Congress, protesters chanted, "Cease fire now," holding banners with the same message. Moments later, the sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives issued an alert to members that entry points to House office buildings were restricted to lawmakers and staff only due to "First Amendment activities on Capitol grounds."
The Police did not take long to act and arrested several of the protesters present, although they still did not know with certainty the number of arrests made.
Just received this video. How did these protesters enter? Did they all go through metal detectors? pic.twitter.com/CRLQPmQdIX
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) October 18, 2023
During the initial protest, Tlaib called on Biden to stand on the "right side of history." "And that's why I'm telling you right now, President Biden, not all Americans are with you on this. And you have to wake up and understand it. We are literally watching how people commit their genocide and kill the vast majority just like that, and we continue without saying anything. We will remember it. But all of you have to know," she said.
"That's what's been really painful … continue to watch people think it's okay to bomb a hospital where children [are]. You know what's so hard sometimes, it's watching those videos and the people telling the kids don't cry, and like let them cry! And they're shaking and they kept telling them not to cry in Arabic! They can cry, I can cry, we all can cry. If we're not crying, something is wrong", she added, repeating that Israel is responsible for the bombing of the hospital in the Gaza Strip.
Pro-Palestinian and Hamas Supporters are currently Protesting inside and outside of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. with most of them Demanding a Ceasefire in Israel. pic.twitter.com/dd9jvDlWjZ
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 18, 2023
