WASHINGTON — Police arrested “roughly 60” anti-Israel protesters inside the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday after a group led by controversial activist Linda Sarsour staged an illegal rally in the iconic venue.
“Not another nickel! Not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes!” chanted members of the group, holding “Stop Arming Israel” signs.
It is illegal to hold demonstrations inside the Capitol, though violators of the prohibition are inconsistently prosecuted by the DC US Attorney’s office after being arrested.
“We were aware of a group’s potential plan to take a tour of the US Capitol Building and then start a protest,” Capitol Police said in a statement.
“It is against the law to demonstrate inside the Congressional Buildings, so we brought in additional officers to be prepared for the moment the group would break the law. The group was screened when they entered the building. Once they broke the law, roughly 60 people were immediately arrested for [violating] D.C. Code § 22–1307 — Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding.”
The US attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether charges will be pursued against members of the group.
The rare Rotunda protest drew condemnation by conservatives, who likened it to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, when supporters of then-President Donald Trump battled with police inside the Rotunda as they disrupted certification of his Electoral College defeat.
Commentator Rogan O’Handley, who operates the popular DC Draino account, tweeted: “Linda Sarsour and her band of anti-semites[sic] are now insurrecting [sic] the Capitol[.] Will the DOJ lock them all up and throw them in the DC Gulag like J6ers? Or do we not have equal justice in this country?”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), tweeted, “Insurrection happening now in the Capital!! [sic] Is that Linda Sarsour leading the Pro-Hamas Anti-Israel insurrectionists? Very serious ties to terrorists & Progressive Democrats if it’s her. Arrest them all and throw them in the DC gulag in solitary confinement just like J6’ers!”
Sarsour emerged as a prominent national activist as an organizer of the massive Women’s March one day after Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, but has taken criticism, including from Democrats, for her stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Sarsour, the Brooklyn-born daughter of Palestinian immigrants, is a prominent advocate of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which seeks to build global economic pressure on the Jewish state.
She drew outrage last month for ridiculing the “little posters” of hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists during the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, including at least 33 Americans.
“The lack of compassion, the absence of empathy and the complete deficit of even a hint of decency tells you everything you need to know about her. Absolutely everything. It’s not just pathetic, it’s prejudice full stop,” tweeted Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL previously highlighted “incendiary” Sarsour remarks such as likening Zionism to “white supremacy in America” and for writing that “[n[othing is creepier than Zionism.”
Biden’s 2020 campaign distanced itself from Sarsour after she appeared at a Democratic National Convention breakout session, saying that “he obviously condemns her views and opposes BDS” and that “she has no role in the Biden campaign whatsoever.”
MPower Change, a Muslim advocacy group where Sarsour is executive director, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
House Republicans on Nov. 2 approved $14.3 billion in military aid for Israel, but the Democratic-held Senate has not passed the funding as it tries to attach more than $60 billion in proposed aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia, which faces greater opposition in public polling and among Republicans.