Top Democrat lawmakers from across the country were holding a campaign reception Wednesday at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Then, they were evacuated after a nasty brawl between police and far-Left protestors.
Shocking videos of the violence — pro-Palestine protesters clashing with police — quickly went viral on social media.
Scores of Democratic representatives and candidates, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., were caught off-guard by the mayhem caused by the “pro-terrorist” and “pro-#Hamas” slogans chanted outside.
“Was just evacuated from the #DNC after pro-terrorist, anti-#Israel protestors grew violent, pepper spraying police officers and attempting to break into the building,” Sherman tweeted Wednesday.
Apparently, these pro-#Hamas demonstrators want #Republicans to prevail in the next Congressional election. (2/2)
— Congressman Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) November 16, 2023
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., compared it to the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.
“You have the Constitutional right to peaceably assemble and protest. But blocking all entries to a building with multiple members of Congress in it, protected by Capitol Police officers who have lived through January 6 is putting you and other innocent people at risk,” Casten tweeted Wednesday.
“We were rescued by armed officers who did not know the protestors’ intent; they knew only that Members of Congress were inside, could not leave and that protestors would not let police through.”
Some lawmakers were evacuated to the basement. Others were evacuated to police vehicles.
Take a look —
BREAKING
Absolute mayhem outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC.
Ceasefire advocates who were protesting and blocking the doors of the DNC building are being pulled off, thrown down, and arrested by law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/uCEsYGQt8L
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 16, 2023
The original protest was organized by a coalition of far-Left groups, including If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace Action, that have spearheaded other demonstrations in Washington and elsewhere.
U.S. Capitol Police said that about 150 people were “illegally and violently protesting” in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington.
Capitol Police said six officers were treated for minor injuries and one protester was arrested for assaulting an officer.
The Metropolitan Police Department said its officers also responded to the disturbance. Congressional staffers received an alert telling them no one would be permitted to enter or exit any House office buildings, but authorities later reopened the entrances.
Wednesday’s clashes were the latest example of the Democrats’ internal tensions over the antisemitism that has overtaken much of the party.
President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders have faced increasing pressure from the Democratic Party’s far-Left faction. Biden supports the “humanitarian pauses” in order to allow for humanitarian aid and hostage retrieval. However, Biden has enraged the far Left by declining to use the word “ceasefire.”
Critics say that radical Islamic terrorists have called for a ceasefire to allow their forces to regroup.
Among the participants Wednesday night was Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, a bearded woman who went viral for interrupting Biden’s speech at a recent fundraiser in Minnesota.
She said Democrats are “not listening to the people who they claim to represent,” adding that threats against lawmakers “are only going to increase.”
“We are not slowing down,” she said. “The call for a ceasefire is going to keep growing. And our representatives need to take action, yesterday.”
Flashback! Joe Biden heckled by anti-Israel activist Jessica Rosenberg
The Associated Press contributed to this article.