Capitol Police confront fallout from violent protest at Democratic headquarters

Several House Democratic lawmakers, including party leadership, had been present for an event at the building and were evacuated.

The Hill’s police force has been on edge after recent assaults against lawmakers, with law enforcement particularly sensitive about keeping entrances open to buildings in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot. The Washington D.C. police assisted in responding to the protests but referred all questions to the Capitol Police.

Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that blocking the entrances put protesters and others at risk. He was one of the lawmakers present at the fundraiser.

“We were rescued by armed officers who did not know the protestors’ intent; they knew only that Members of Congress were inside, could not leave and that protestors would not let police through. Forcing police to guess intent is irresponsible and dangerous,” he said.

Another lawmaker who had been in the building, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), condemned the violence.

“The right to demonstrate and peaceably assemble is a constitutionally protected one,” she said in a statement. “But demonstrations such as this one — in which police orders to leave private property were ignored, Members of Congress were blocked from exiting, and six police officers were injured — cannot be classified as peaceful. “

House office buildings were placed on lockdown during the incident. In a message posted on X, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) faulted “these pro-Hamas insurrectionists” for the disruptions and called on the Biden administration to treat the incident the same as it did “January 6 cases.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, in a statement Thursday, condemned what he called “this vile display of anti-Semitism.” Other Republicans, including Florida Reps. Kat Cammack and Anna Paulina Luna, said they were placed on lockdown due to the protests.

“I’m with my baby at my office and the Capitol offices just went into lockdown because of these clowns,” Luna wrote. “Nut jobs.”

The protests came just a few years after a still-unknown suspect placed a pipe bomb outside both the DNC and Republican National Committee prior to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.