WASHINGTON, D.C.– The day after violent anti-Israel protests broke out in Washington, D.C., in response to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s address to Congress, protesters appeared split on whether violence, vandalism and spraying graffiti over D.C. property is justified.
Fox News Digital spoke to several protesters – and some pro-Israel counterprotesters – during a rally outside the White House on Thursday, asking them what they thought of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., calling for anyone who committed violent acts at these rallies to be arrested.
‘F--- Mike Johnson! That’s ridiculous. You can’t tell people how to protest," Stephen, an anti-Israel activist from California said Thursday. Several of his fellow protesters disagreed, however, saying they can protest Netanyahu’s visit while respecting the law.
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Anti-Israel protests in the nation’s capital turned violent on Wednesday as agitators burned U.S. flags, spray-painted the words "Hamas is coming" on a statue of Christopher Columbus and screamed "Allahu Akbar" while marching in the city streets.
Several of the agitators carried Hamas flags and expressed solidarity for the terror group that massacred around 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. Speaker Johnson came out forcefully against these demonstrators that evening, denouncing them as "terrorists" in an X post.
Johnson told Fox News Channel on Wednesday, "We should not stand for this at all. Look, we respect free speech, of course, but they are desecrating monuments, destroying public property, and they need to be arrested and sent to jail if they're going to act like that and support a bloodthirsty terrorist regime."
Demonstrators on Friday were split in their reaction to Johnson’s declaration. Stephen justified the violence, telling Fox, "You can’t tell people how to protest, especially when they have been hurt for generations and generations."
"The destruction of property is not violence, because violence is against human people, OK?" he declared, adding, "If I go and punch a tree that’s not violence, that’s literally just me letting out anger."
"We spend $35 billion on Israel! How much does it cost to clean the street from the blood we poured on it?" He appeared to be referring to protesters pouring fake blood on Black Lives Matter Plaza over the course of the demonstrations.
Will, a fellow anti-Israel protester from Kentucky, agreed and scoffed at the question about Johnson’s statement.
"The violence is being perpetrated against the protesters – by the police, by the cops, by the Zionists. Destroying property is not violence," he said.
"Oh my God, a window got broken," he added sarcastically. "You want to talk about violence? How many Palestinian children are dead because of the Zionist violence? And we want to talk about violence in these protests. It’s a joke!"
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However, their friend Justin from West Virginia condemned the violence and told Fox he respected Johnson’s charge.
"I mean, I agree. I think that people who destroy statues should – I mean, that’s against the law. I’m for the law. I try to be a peaceful protester," he said. "I’m here for the good of all people. I love all people, so yeah, I agree."
Others condemned the violent protests as well. Ahmed, a U.S. citizen originally from Egypt, told Fox that though he believes there’s a "massacre" being perpetrated in Gaza and that it’s "a shame" that Netanyahu addressed Congress, he opposed violence at the protests in D.C.
"We have to protest peacefully like you see now, OK?" he said,
Dia from Daytona Beach rejected the actions of those who burned the U.S. flag on Wednesday, telling Fox News Digital, "Burning the flag is not something that is patriotic to be honest with you. I, myself, do not condone that, and I don’t want anybody to burn the flag of the United States that represents us."
Willie from D.C. said he agrees with Johnson’s statements, stating, "I agree that people who commit crimes should be held accountable. It’s what some of the people here are calling for for Netanyahu – is to hold him accountable for his crimes."
Willie also described how some fellow protesters had engaged in more violent protests the day before and expressed that they should be held accountable for their actions.
Fox also spoke to several pro-Israel counterprotesters outside the White House on Thursday who described experiencing some of the violence throughout the D.C. demonstrations.
Aby, a Canadian pro-Israel activist, told Fox, "A group of pro-Palestinian supporters came and – they were with their flags – spat on my friend and also started ripping out flags from the ground. So that’s vandalism and I have that all on video. These people need to be held accountable, and we need to send a message to people that vandalism is not acceptable."
Aby described getting spit on and almost attacked during the Thursday rally near the White House, adding, "People need to stop being so hateful."
A pro-Israel activist from D.C. named Rachel said, "In the past ten months, these protesters have shown that they’re violent, that they have no intention of being peaceful. They’ve attacked people, they’ve threatened murder."
"Globalizing the intifada is a genocidal call against infidels," she continued, adding, "Anybody who’s not a Muslim, including Jews, Christians. So, they’re here with violent intent, so I absolutely support what the police have to do."
