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During the protests, several people were arrested and many others were pepper sprayed by police.
WASHINGTON — Protesters gathered across the District Wednesday as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a fiery speech to Congress during a joint session.
During the protests, several people were arrested and many others were pepper sprayed by police.
According to U.S. Capitol Police, a crowd of demonstrators were pepper sprayed by officers near First Street and Constitution Avenue NW. USCP claims the crowd became violent and failed to follow orders to move back from the police line.
"We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line," said USCP on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Video of the clash between officers and protesters shows police spraying large doses of pepper spray from blue cylinders at the crowd, a move one demonstrator told WUSA9 came without warning.
"Police essentially block the way, organizers tried to tell police that it's our constitutional right to continue marching and without warning they started pushing us and spraying us with pepper gas," the demonstrator said.
The demonstrator estimated hundreds of people were affected by the chemical deterrent.
"This is a ridiculous response to our demand for an end to the genocide, for our ability to protest the fact that a war criminal is speaking to the U.S. Congress completely against the wishes of the people of this country," they added.
Following the address, USCP said six people were also arrested in the House Gallery for disrupting Netanyahu's address during the joint session.
"Disrupting the Congress and demonstrating in the Congressional Buildings is against the law," USCP said on X.
There were at least five demonstrations going on at the same time around the Capitol building -- the majority were peaceful.
Shortly after 4 p.m. demonstrations outside Union Station escalated. WUSA9 was there when officers and protestors began to clash with police running near the crowd in riot gear.
The protest originally had a permit that was later pulled after protesters were seen burning a flag and several other actions were deemed illegal by officials.
It is unclear if any arrests have been made in this protest but WUSA9's Matt Gregory did hear demonstrators over a loudspeaker chanting, "Let him go."
The protestors who gathered at Columbus Circle then moved into the street on Massachusetts Avenue NE as officers appeared to form a line pushing back against protestors and blocking entrances to the US Capitol.
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