Axios, a US news outlet, highlighted in a report published on November 17, the threats facing members of Congress due to protests related to the conflict in Gaza.
According to the report, the Capitol building has repeatedly been put on high alert in anticipation of a series of protests related to Israel over the past month.
Many Democratic members of the House, including leadership, were barricaded inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters on Wednesday as law enforcement outside clashed with protesters demanding an end to the Gaza ceasefire.
Protesters attempted to block the entrance to the building, prompting Capitol police to push them back in a scuffle that left 90 demonstrators and six officers injured.
Capitol police said in a statement, that the crowd failed to comply with lawful orders to vacate the DNC headquarters building where Members of Congress were.”
It added that when the group began moving dumpsters in front of exits, our teams swiftly implemented the procedures.
According to the same source, members who were inside the building described a sense of fear that some hadn’t felt since January 6th, referring to the date of the Capitol breach in 2021.
According to a report published by the Middle East Eye a few days ago, more than 400 political appointees and employees representing about 40 US federal agencies sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday protesting his support for Israel in the Gaza war and calling on him to seek an immediate ceasefire and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.
The letter is the latest in a series of protests by officials throughout the Biden administration, including three internal memos received by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who acknowledged that hundreds of employees in his department reject the current policy. Additionally, more than 1,000 employees of the US Agency for International Development signed an open letter expressing similar sentiments.
