President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address has sparked protests across the United States, with demonstrators gathering outside of the US Capitol building, calling on him to stop funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Protesters gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue – the arterial road that connects the White House to the seat of the US legislature in Washington, DC – just minutes before the annual presidential speech to both houses of Congress on Thursday.
According to reports, the President’s convoy was forced to take a longer route to get from the White House to the Capitol building, to avoid the protests.
Protest organizers said people forced Biden to reroute and arrive late to give his speech at the Capitol.
Protesters near the Capitol laid out a huge Palestinian flag across the avenue’s asphalt and held banners that said “Biden’s legacy is genocide.”
“When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” protesters chanted.
“I feel like they’re killing with my hands with my tax dollars,” said one protester.
Jay Saper, an organizer said that “the majority of Americans want a full, permanent, lasting cease-fire” in Gaza.
“It’s important for our elected officials to actually answer to the people, as opposed to answering to a [foreign] government that’s actively carrying out genocide by continuing to send and pledge money and weapons to them.”
Ahead of the speech, protesters also gathered near the White House, calling on Biden to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and stop arming Israel.
“We are here today because enough is enough,” said Ahmad Abuznaid, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group (CAIR) said the speech was Biden’s “best and perhaps last chance” to announce steps to reduce Palestinian suffering in Gaza.
A huge Palestinian flag also hung from the balcony of a congressional office building, while protesters were chanting “Ceasefire now” on street corners.
Demonstrators held banners read; “The People Demand: Stop Arming Israel.”
In Boston and Los Angeles, protesters blocked traffic. Police arrested more than 50 protesters in Boston, according to one activist group and a local media report.
Palestinian American human rights lawyer Huwaida Arraf said the protesters in Washington, DC “know the State of the Union, the State of the Union is genocide.”
“We will not accept a president who claims to be fighting for democracy while ignoring the majority of people he represents.”
Joe Biden has been facing mounting pressure to stop providing Israel with bombs, missiles and ammunition since the regime launched its military offensive against Gaza in early October. The regime’s forces have so far killed more than 30,878 Palestinians, mostly children and women, in the besieged territory.
Five months into the war in Gaza, the Biden administration has repeatedly bypassed Congress to greenlight an emergency weapons sale to Israel.
