Hundreds arrested on Capitol Hill during protest of Israel-Hamas war

U.S. Capitol police reported arresting about 300 people today for protesting inside the Cannon House Office building. Hundreds of protestors also gathered outside, calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War.

Protesters, many dressed in black T-shirts with slogans like “JEWS SAY CEASEFIRE NOW,”  held up signs that said “ceasefire” in the Cannon rotunda.

In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, U.S. Capitol Police said, “We warned the protestors to stop demonstrating, and when they did not comply, we began arresting them.”

We warned the protestors to stop demonstrating and when they did not comply we began arresting them.

— The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) October 18, 2023

U.S. Capitol Police also posted on X that “among the arrests, three people have been arrested and charged with Assault on a Police Officer during processing.”

Arrested protestors, with hands zip-tied behind their backs, were lined up outside the Cannon House Office building Wednesday afternoon, waiting to be put into U.S. Capitol Police buses. Police said it won’t have the final number of those arrested for a while as it continues to process arrests.

Hundreds of protestors gathered outside Cannon and the Capitol and chanted and sang “Ceasefire now” and “Free Palestine.” 

Jewish Voice for Peace organized the protest, and demonstrators then went inside Cannon after a rally on the National Mall, according to the organization’s posts on X. Jewish Voice for Peace describes itself as “the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world,” according to its website.

Rebecca Ennen joined the protest outside. She said she came to call for an end to the war. 

“I’m Jewish, I’m a mom, and the attacks by Hamas were completely horrific, and everyone should be horrified by that,” Ennen said. “I just see that war is not going to create safety; it’s not going to create justice.” 

HAPPENING NOW: Hundreds are outside the Cannon House Office building calling for a ceasefire in the #IsraelHamasWar pic.twitter.com/Zqn47LzdYI

— Alex Angle (@alexangle_) October 18, 2023

President Joe Biden wrapped up his visit to Israel Wednesday, where he expressed support for Israel and laid out a plan to get humanitarian aid to people in Gaza.

President Biden also posted on X today, stating, “The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas.” “And Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.”

Hundreds were killed in an explosion at a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, causing protests throughout the Middle East and shortening Biden’s trip. Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians. In retaliation, Israel shut off all supplies to Gaza and claims to be planning a ground assault to root out Hamas fighters in the coming days. 

3,478 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. 

Gabriel Connolly traveled from Massachusetts to join Wednesday’s protest. As a father, he said it’s difficult to think about the reality of families experiencing the Israel-Hamas war. 

“I can’t imagine the horrible pain that these parents are going through, wanting to keep their children safe and not being able to. They’re being told to go somewhere else, and you go there, and you get bombed there, so there’s no safety,” Connolly said. 

Another protestor, Isa Cano, came from New York to join the protest calling for a ceasefire.

“Stop dehumanizing certain groups of people; everyone deserves the right to live,” Cano said.  

The protest wrapped up around 5 p.m., and Capitol Police reopened the roads around the Capitol.