Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday denounced the pro-Palestinian protestors who defaced public property outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., the day prior, saying their concerns about the war in Gaza is not justification for “support for terrorism.”
“Grave concern for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza cannot justify defacing federal property with Hamas slogans,” Buttigieg wrote in a post on the social platform X. “Passionate differences are grounds for fierce debate and meaningful protest, not intimidation and certainly not support for terrorism.”
Buttigieg’s brief statement did not mention the burning of flags at the protests, which has drawn the ire of Republicans and some Democrats since Wednesday afternoon.
Scores of demonstrators gathered around Capitol Hill on Wednesday in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and address to Congress.
Calling for Netanyahu’s arrest, a group of demonstrators lowered and then burned two U.S. flags outside Union Station, just blocks from the Capitol. The demonstrators raised smaller Palestinian flags in their place.
The Freedom Bell, a double-scale replica of the Liberty Bell, was also graffitied with anti-Israel slogans outside Union Station. On another monument outside the train station, someone wrote “Hamas is coming.”
U.S. Park Police, D.C. Metro Police, and the New York Police Department responded to the protest at Columbus Circle and called on demonstrators to disperse after scuffles with police.
Metro Police confirmed on Thursday that four people were arrested at Columbus Circle, while U.S. Park Police took at least eight people into custody. The Washington Post reported that 23 arrests were made throughout the day at anti-Netanyahu protests.
The Hill reached out to U.S. Park Police for further comment.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.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 is not acceptable under any circumstance,” Jeffries wrote in a statement on Thursday morning.
“There is a difference between lawful expression and disorderly conduct. Anyone who violates the law must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.
During his address earlier in the afternoon, Netanyahu denounced the demonstrations on Capitol Hill and on college campuses earlier this year. He said his critics stood “with evil,” should be “ashamed of themselves” and were “useful idiots” for Iran.