At least 11 anti-Israel protesters arrested in Washington, D.C., had their misdemeanor charges dropped Thursday evening, one day after protesters scrawled graffiti across federal property and burned an American flag in the nation’s capital.
The charges for the 11 protesters who had their cases dropped included crossing police lines and disorderly conduct at the protest attended by thousands in Washington on Wednesday, according to the Washington attorney general’s office. Additionally, at least six people charged by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington were released pending their next court hearing, according to Washington Superior Court records obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The protesters given release conditions face charges such as assault on a police officer, attempted assault with a deadly weapon, making threats, and attempted second-degree theft, and they have been issued a “Stay Away” order to avoid the Union Station grounds until they head to preliminary hearings in late August.
Altogether, there were 23 total arrests made on Wednesday in connection to demonstrations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday afternoon, according to a list of names provided to the Washington Examiner by the Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police, and the U.S. attorney’s office. The protests involved thousands and led to tense confrontations with police.
Four of the 23 protesters were charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, including an unnamed 15-year-old male from Westlake, Ohio. The other two charged with assaulting a police officer included Zachary Kim, who faces two felony counts, and Kevin Ramirez, who also faces a misdemeanor charge for crossing a police line. It is unclear who is the fourth person who allegedly assaulted an officer, and the Washington Examiner was unable to locate federal or local court records for Kim and Ramirez. There were no records of custody for the pair by Central Cell Block, the district jail, or MPD precinct holdings.
During the arraignment hearing, some virtual observers who joined to view the defendants included names such as “Support for Palestine Supporters” and “Support for Protester.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment to the Washington Examiner, only stating that the investigation into the violent and destructive protest is “ongoing.”
During the protests, demonstrators vandalized the Christopher Columbus statue and fountain near Union Station, prompting a multiday cleanup effort by the National Park Service that began Thursday morning. Graffiti included messages such as “Hamas is coming,” “Israel bombs hospitals,” and “Free Palestine,” while an American flag and an effigy of Netanyahu were burned. It is not immediately clear whether those individuals who vandalized monuments were arrested or are facing charges.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the presumptive nominee to take on former President Donald Trump, condemned the vandalism and the flag burning the day after it unfolded, calling them “despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters.” The Anti-Defamation League also condemned the graffiti as a vile, antisemitic threat.
Trump released a statement saying if the “people rioting in Washington” on Wednesday were Republicans or conservatives, “they’d all be in jail right now, facing 10 to 20 year sentences.”
“Under this Crooked Administration, nothing will happen to them!” Trump said.
Trump’s statement came hours before an independent reporter posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that the charges against the four people who assaulted law enforcement had their charges “dropped” Wednesday evening. The Washington Examiner was not able to verify whether the charges in those specific cases were dropped.
Protests against Netanyahu’s appearance in the District of Columbia marked the largest violent protest in the area since the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, where thousands of supporters of Trump descended on the complex and entered the building in anger and frustration over his 2020 election defeat.
More than 1,424 defendants have been charged since the Jan. 6 protest, the Justice Department said in May, and about 350 people from the event were charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including approximately 110 people who used a deadly or dangerous weapon to cause serious harm to a law enforcement officer. At least 145 people have been sentenced to prison terms over 151 months and roughly 172 defendants have been sentenced to periods of home detention, including approximately 31 who were sentenced to a period of incarceration.
The dropped charges against anti-Israel protesters come as critics have accused the Justice Department of cracking down more harshly on Jan. 6 defendants than on protesters who engage in similar conduct but whose causes align with the Left.
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The investigation into the anti-Israel protests and vandalism is ongoing, with the U.S. attorney’s office reviewing video footage of the incidents. The discrepancy between the number of arrests and the number of cases still being pursued remains unclear.
Kenneth Spencer, chairman of the Park Police union, attributed the limited number of arrests to staffing and resource constraints in a statement on Thursday.
