The Israeli Park Police union is pushing back against criticism that there were few arrests after anti-Israel protesters defaced federal property at Union Station in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
On Tuesday, thousands of Hamas-sympathetic agitators descended on Washington, DC, at one point defaced a federal monument with the words “Here Comes Hamas” in support of the terrorist group responsible for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Twenty-three people were arrested during the protests, but some believe the number could be much higher.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., posted on X, “How many more times are we going to allow left-wing degenerates who support terror and hate America to destroy buildings and attack police? Hundreds should have been arrested in Washington DC today, not 23!”
House Republicans replace American flag at Union Station following anti-Israel protests
Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station during an anti-Israel protest on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 24, 2024, the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint session of Congress. (Reuters/Seth Herold)
But the U.S. Park Police Labor Board is fighting back.
“Officers on the scene did everything in their power to protect lives and property. In fact, with only 29 officers available to mitigate the situation, they processed several arrests on charges ranging from assaulting a police officer to destruction of government property, without any additional support from the Department of the Interior,” Kenneth Spencer, president of the United States Fraternal Order of Park Police, said in a statement.
“That’s why it’s so disheartening when I hear some lawmakers and members of the media who call themselves ‘advocates for law enforcement’ suggest that police ‘missed’ protesters or didn’t make enough arrests.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who really tries to understand the issue will realise that police understaffing is at the root of the police’s ability to do their job. A small force of 29 officers made 10 arrests while being overrun by a mob of several thousand. There were simply no personnel or resources to carry out a mass arrest operation.”
Check it out: The most dramatic photos from Wednesday’s pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington DC
On July 24, 2024, anti-Israel protesters vandalized graffiti on the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station on the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
At least one protester was photographed by Fox News covering his face and holding what appeared to be a flag of the terrorist group Hamas, while others could be heard chanting “Allah is great.”
Kamala Harris responds to anti-Israel riots at Washington’s Union Station
Anti-Israel protesters burned an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside Union Station on July 24, 2024, the same day the prime minister spoke to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
The White House condemned the protests Wednesday night, calling the unrest “disgraceful.”
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“It is shameful to align ourselves with an evil terrorist organization like Hamas and to burn the American flag or forcibly remove it and replace it with another flag.” White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates He made the remarks in comments to Fox News Digital on Wednesday night.
