Kamala Harris Breaks Silence On 'Despicable' D.C. Protests Involving Pro-Hamas Graffiti

On Wednesday, Pro-Hamas protesters were spotted defacing a Christopher Columbus statue in Union Square with the phrase “Hamas is coming,” while also burning an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an American flag.

They were also seen raising a Palestinian flag over Union Station after removing the American flag.

Following the massive anti-Israel protests in D.C., Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement.

The White House condemned the anti-Israel protesters who gathered in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress.

"Identifying with evil terrorist organizations like Hamas, burning the American flag, or forcibly removing the American flag and replacing it with another, is disgraceful," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a comment to Fox News Digital Wednesday evening.

"Antisemitism and violence are never acceptable. Period. Every American has the right to peaceful protest," Bates added. "But shamefully, not everyone demonstrated peacefulness today."

"Yesterday, at Union Station in Washington, D.C., we saw despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric," Harris, whose husband is Jewish, began in her statement. "I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Isreal and kill Jews. Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation."

"I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America," she added. "It should never be desecrated in that way. 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."

Harris is not the only one to speak out about the protests. Senator Marco Rubio also released a statement, slamming the vandalization by foreign national Hamas protesters.

“If you’re in the United States on a visa and vandalizing property with phrases like 'Hamas is coming,' it’s time for you to go," he said, per Fox.

“What I am saying is common sense, you're a visitor, you're not even an American, you're a foreign national, you're here because we gave you a Visa to be here temporarily, and now you're out there, defending and supporting Hamas a terrorist organization,” Rubio said. "We need you to go. That's what this resolution asked the administration to do, and I hope we can get a vote in the Senate, so at least everyone will know where everybody here stands."

On Wednesday, demonstrators in protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza took down an American flag and replaced it with a Palestinian flag. At one point, they also burned the U.S. flag, but someone quickly ran into the crowd and retrieved it from the ground.

The protesters also spray-painted the Christopher Columbus fountain and the nearby Liberty Bell replica with slogans such as “Free Gaza,” “All Zionists are bastards,” and “Free Palestine.”

Police intervened at several points throughout the day, using a chemical irritant on some demonstrators.

The protesters gathered to denounce Netanyahu’s policies and the way Israel has conducted the war in Gaza. Despite their diverse political views on the conflict, they shared a common concern: the prolonged human suffering and the urgent need for Netanyahu to negotiate a cease-fire.

Some also called for the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7 attack and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

At noon, around 100 people gathered in a park near Union Station, with some waving Israeli flags and others holding a banner that read “Save Israel from Bibi,” using Netanyahu’s nickname.

“We’re here today to say we refuse to let a small number of zealots, including Benjamin Netanyahu, destroy the state of Israel,” Rabbi Jill Jacobs said to the crowd. “We’re here to tell Netanyahu that he and his fascist politics are not welcome here in the United States or in Israel.”

The Israeli leader is also scheduled to meet separately with President Biden and former President Trump.