Hundreds of protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza gathered at Union Station in D.C. on Friday night, drawing a massive police presence and disrupting Metro service to the train station.
WTOP’s Scott Gelman reported Union Station was completely blocked off around 6:30 p.m. and that the demonstration began at the front of Union Station, but later moved to the side on First Street NE.
Crowds ultimately dissipated around 8 p.m., Gelman reported. Red Line trains had been bypassing the station, but regular service resumed after the crowds left.
Gelman said that some sides of Union Station have red handprints from demonstrators. The sign that has the station’s name also has red handprints on it.
“I did see one woman led away in what looked to be plastic handcuffs and we’re not entirely sure what led up to that,” Gelman said.
D.C. police said there were three arrests made in relation to the rally.
“Today, our city once again hosted many visitors who came to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Chief Pamela A. Smith said in a statement.
“During the protest, our officers observed several individuals defacing property with paint. Three individuals were arrested and charged with Defacing Public Property. The property damage was limited to one section of Union Station, and clean-up crews are working to restore the building. There were no major incidents reported.”
The crowd had been waving Palestinian flags and one sign read “End all U.S. aid to Israel.”
Just after 4 p.m., Amtrak advised travelers to get to Union Station well ahead of time to board their train due to the protest.
Friday night’s demonstration comes the same week as Tuesday’s “March for Israel,” which drew tens of thousands of pro-Israel supporters to the National Mall, and Wednesday’s protest outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters, which saw participants also calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Six Capitol Police officers were hurt during Wednesday night’s demonstration and 90 protesters were reported injured.
WTOP’s Will Vitka and Scott Gelman contributed to this report.
