Clashes broke out between dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters and police outside the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington on Wednesday evening, leading to the closure of nearby US Congressional offices.
“Our officers are working to contain approximately 150 individuals demonstrating illegally and violently” near the party offices, Capitol Police said in a message on X (formerly Twitter).
“Officers are making arrests,” added police, who reported six injured people in their ranks who were treated for “minor cuts” and even “beatings.”
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Elected officials who were in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) offices at the time were escorted from the building by police to safety.
Demonstrators are calling for a ceasefire and an end to the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
“I was just evacuated from the #DNC because pro-terror and anti-Israel protesters became violent, pepper-sprayed police and tried to break into the building,” California Democratic lawmaker Brad Sherman posted on X.
“Thank you to the police officers who stopped them and helped me and my colleagues get out safely,” Mr. Sherman wrote.
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Another elected Democrat, Sean Casten (Ill.), criticized the protesters for “blocking all entrances to a building where several members of Congress were staying.”
Mr Casten stated on X that he himself had been “rescued by armed officers”.
Photos posted on social media showed protesters wearing black T-shirts that read “Cease Fire Now” fighting with police officers who tried to keep them away from the building’s entrance.
Security officials ordered elected officials and their staff to stay in buildings near the Capitol, near the DNC headquarters.
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An alert was issued advising that “a large demonstration is underway and no entry or exit is permitted at this time.”
This violent demonstration came the day after a pro-Israel rally involving several thousand people on the National Mall, a vast promenade in the heart of the American capital.
The war between Israel and Hamas was sparked by the Palestinian Islamist movement’s October 7 attack on Israeli soil, unprecedented since the founding of the Jewish state.