Republican members of the United States House of Representatives reacted on Wednesday to a protest by demonstrators demanding Israel halt its military response against Hamas.
Hundreds of demonstrators from Jewish Voice for Peace took over the lower rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building, and shouted “Not another nickel. Not another dime. No more money for Israel’s crimes.” Israel has declared itself on a war footing after Hamas launched a deadly terrorist attack on multiple locations bordering the Gaza Strip, killing at least 1,400 people and taking over 200 hostages.
“Got my sign ready. Is the rally in Rayburn or Cannon?” Republican Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia posted on X, including a photo of a sign reading, “Keep Bombing Hamas.”
“They’re outside right now, chanting ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘From the river to the sea,’ calling for the extermination of the Jewish people and then complimenting how many Jewish people are inside this building, being arrested,” Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida said in a two-minute video shot from the inside of the Cannon House Office Building.
Republican Rep. Brandon Williams of New York was photographed holding an Israeli flag over the protesters by Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram.
“This hate has absolutely no place in the halls of the Cannon House Office Building,” Republican Rep. David Kustoff of Tennessee posted on X. “I am proud to #StandWithIsrael.”
“I demand @CapitolPolice preserve all video footage inside and outside the Cannon House office building today,” Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia posted on X. “There must be an investigation into the organized breach and occupation that stopped Congress from holding a Speaker election and continuing legislative business today.”
Greene earlier posted photos of the protester’s phones, calling the protesters “insurrectionists.”
The protesters repeated debunked claims that Israeli forces bombed a hospital in Gaza. U.S. intelligence assessed that a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad was responsible for the blast and death toll.
Harold Hutchison on October 18, 2023
