Capitol Police said about 60 demonstrators were arrested on Friday during a veterans’ protest on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, after the group breached a law enforcement line of bike racks.
The arrests were made outside the U.S. Capitol building near the steps of the rotunda, Fox News reported on Saturday. The outlet said a group of veterans and military family members planned a sit-in to show their disagreement with President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, California, where violent protests erupted recently over illegal immigration sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The group was also protesting the planned military parade that will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. The event is scheduled for Saturday in D.C., which is also Trump’s birthday, according to Breitbart News.
Newsmax shared video footage on Saturday of the protesters running towards the Capitol Rotunda steps:
Approximately 75 protesters had been demonstrating peacefully at the nearby Supreme Court building. However, around 60 of them left that spot and police established a perimeter to bar them from approaching the capitol building, the Fox article said.
According to Capitol Police, “A few people pushed the bike rack down and illegally crossed the police line while running towards the Rotunda Steps. Our officers immediately blocked the group and began making arrests.”
The charges against them included unlawful demonstration and crossing a police line. In addition, some of those involved will also face charges of assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.
The ICE raids in Los Angeles have yielded numerous arrests of people the agency called the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens, Breitbart News reported on Monday.
Meanwhile, video footage shows a man speaking at the recent D.C. protest while wearing a hat that said “Free Palestine” on the front:
Per the Fox article, the groups called About Face: Veterans Against the War and another called Veterans for Peace organized the demonstration. Both groups appear to be anti-Israel, according to social media posts on their X profiles here and here.
Despite the pushback regarding the upcoming military parade, Ambassador Monica Crowley, the Chief of Protocol for the United States, recently told Breitbart News, “This is not simply a military parade. This parade is going to be a tribute to our history. It’s going to be a patriotic celebration of the Army’s legacy, and it’s also going to be a call to inspire the next generation of service-minded Americans.”
Several big tech companies are helping fund the events surrounding the military parade, Breitbart News reported on Friday.
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