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Kamala Harris Condemns ‘Despicable Acts’ Committed During D.C. Protest of Netanyahu’s Address

SCNR News reported live from Union Station as U.S. flags were removed and burned

Published: July 25, 2024
  |   By Chris Karr
Kamala Harris Condemns ‘Despicable Acts’ Committed During D.C. Protest of Netanyahu’s Address

Vice President Kamala Harris has condemned acts committed by protestors objecting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to lawmakers in Washington, D.C.


SCNR News was live on the scene at D.C.’s Union Station on Wednesday, when demonstrators removed and burned American flags taken down from posts. The flags were replaced with Palestinian flags.

When one man tried to slap down the fire with his jacket, he was removed by a protestor amid chants of “Allahu Akbar.” Off-camera protestors can be heard shouting “F--- you” and “f--- America.”


An effigy of Netanyahu was also burned outside Union Station.


The Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain and a replica of the Liberty Bell were defaced with slogans including “Abolish Israel,” “Hamas is coming,” and “Free Gaza.”


“Yesterday, at Union Station in Washington, D.C. we saw despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric,” Harris wrote in statement on Thursday.

“I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews,” she continued. “Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation.”

Harris condemned the burning of the American flag, which she called “a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of American.”

“It should never be desecrated in that way,” she added.

“I support the right to peacefully protest, but let’s be clear: Antisemitism, hate and violence of any kind have no place in our nation,” she concluded.


The statement issued by Harris, who is the poised to be the Democratic nominee for president, appeared to reflect the views of a broad swath of pundits, lawmakers and members of the public.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) thanked Harris for “speaking out clearly and forcefully against the antisemitic protests [and] rightly denounc[ing] the antisemitic vandalism, vitriol, and violence.”

“This is messed up,” Elon Musk said in response to a video of the defaced Liberty Bell.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) chided the “pro-Hamas” protestors for their actions in an X post.

“Tonight, we righted their wrong,” he wrote on Wednesday. “American flags are once again flying over Union Station. We will not let the terrorist mob win.”

“This morning my colleagues and I introduced a bill to deport any foreigner involved in violence and vandalism on federal property,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). “The actions of the pro-Hamas lunatics at Union Station in DC are shameful, and anyone on a visa who took part should have it revoked immediately.”

“This is what an actual insurrection looks like,” broadcaster Benny Johnson said in response to footage of the flag-burning.

“Inside the Capitol, Netanyahu used part of his nearly hourlong speech to denounce the protesters outside and on college campuses earlier this year, accusing his critics of standing ‘with evil’ and saying they should be ‘ashamed of themselves,’” The Hill reports. “Republicans and Democrats have both condemned the anti-Israel demonstrations in Washington, as Netanyahu spoke on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. A group of House Republicans restored the U.S. flags around Union Station, and Trump used the incident to renew his push for jail sentences for those that desecrate American flags.”

“You should get a one-year jail sentence if you do anything to desecrate the American flag,” Trump said during a Wednesday appearance on Fox & Friends.

“Now, people will say, ‘Oh, it’s unconstitutional.’ Those are stupid people. Those are stupid people that say that,” he continued. “We have to work in Congress to get a one-year jail sentence. When they’re allowed to stomp on the flag and put lighter fluid on the flag and set it afire, when you’re allowed to do that — you get a one-year jail sentence, and you’ll never see it again.”


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