President Biden was not in the White House during the demonstration. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the White House on Saturday night during a rally against the Biden administration’s support for Israel. They climbed the fence surrounding the White House and smeared red paint on a gate to the president’s residence. The demonstration began at 2 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue, attracting participants from across the nation. As the crowd marched through downtown Washington, many shouted for President Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a video from the scene, a demonstrator can be seen climbing on the fence while waving a Palestinian flag. The crowd also shouted explicit phrases and expressed their disapproval towards security guards on the other side of the fence. It is important to note that President Biden was not present at the White House during the demonstration as he spent the night at his vacation house in Delaware.
The Palestinian flag-waving crowd chanted, “We don’t want two states. We want 48!” Another chant heard throughout the event was, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This chant is seen by many as a call for the eradication of Israel and the removal of its people from the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Demonstrators also placed Palestinian flags, signs, and graffiti on monuments near the White House. Some protesters dipped their hands in red paint and left handprints on the concrete posts along the White House outer fence. One person was arrested for destruction of property as they spray-painted a McDonald’s restaurant with the word “Gaza” on the windows.
The crowd began dispersing around 8 p.m., and the U.S. Secret Service stated that the process went without incident. Meanwhile, the Biden administration rejected calls for a full ceasefire in Gaza but urged the Israeli government to implement brief “humanitarian pauses” in their military campaign. This would ensure the safe release of hostages and the distribution of critical supplies for Palestinian civilians. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians and stressed that a return to the pre-October 7 status quo in Gaza is unacceptable.