U.S. tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict are continuing to boil.
On Wednesday, a Democratic congressman opted to describe a lock-on protest at the DNC calling for a cease-fire in Gaza with inflammatory language, snubbing it as “pro-terrorist.”
“Was just evacuated from the #DNC after pro-terrorist, anti-#Israel protestors grew violent, pepper spraying police officers and attempting to break into the building,” said California Representative Brad Sherman on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sherman immediately received blowback online from journalists and protesters alike, who categorically refuted the claims in Sherman’s post and argued that the mass-recorded event at the Democratic National Committee headquarters illustrated no evidence of protesters spraying police, but rather the other way around.
“Yeah, Sherman is wrong. I was outside the building and saw a USCP officer spray protesters, not vice versa,” responded Semafor’s David Weigel, linking a video that shows officers shoving and spraying an aerosol into a tightly packed crowd several times before walking into their own line of fire.
“They blocked the entrances; they didn’t try to storm the offices,” Weigel continued in another post.
A Democratic strategist also questioned the validity of a statement issued by Capitol Police following the protest, which noted that officers were “treated for injuries—ranging from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched.”
So did the police at the DNC protest injure…themselves? pic.twitter.com/JDlw0xqIXT
— Waleed Shahid 🪬 (@_waleedshahid) November 16, 2023
“So did the police at the DNC protest injure … themselves?” posted senior Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid, who had previously worked for Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, sharing a clip documenting a Capitol Police officer hitting another officer in the back while setting up a metal blockade.
Protest organizers estimate that at least 90 people were injured in the clashes with police.
This is dangerous & reckless disinformation, Congressman.
We were peacefully linking arms, singing, and calling for a ceasefire.
As you can see with your own eyes in this video.
Then Capitol Police rushed in, threw us down the stairs, and pepper sprayed us.
Retract this now. https://t.co/FqOc8ZfCd4 pic.twitter.com/Xerx1cSDXy
— IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) November 16, 2023
The war between Israel and Hamas is now halfway through its sixth week. Only 31 members of Congress have called for a cease-fire, and a report indicated that many Democratic congressmen are actively ignoring phone calls from constituents asking for a cease-fire.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported that more than 11,100 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far—or one out of every 200 people—with most of the dead being women and children. Approximately 240 hostages still remain in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 attack, killing 1,200 people.