Capitol Police Report Pepper Spray, Violence From ‘Ceasefire’ Protesters at DNC HQ — Just As CNN’s Abby Phillip Reported

Capitol police on Thursday released a statement saying that the “#Ceasefire” protesters outside of the DNC offices in Washington, D.C. became violent and sprayed police officers with pepper spray, as was reported by CNN’s Abby Phillip on Wednesday night.

Protesters claiming to want a ceasefire in Gaza gathered outside the Democratic National Committee offices in Washington on Wednesday for a protest that ended with altercations and arrests, as well as the evacuation of party leaders as the violence unfolded.

After the incident, CNN’s Phillip spoke with California Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman. Sherman, Phillip, and others online who reported that the protesters — mostly from the anti-Israel IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Democratic Socialists of America groups — had injured and sprayed capitol police officers with pepper spray were soon denounced on Twitter as untruthful.

Phillip was forced to defend her segment on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday night in response to the former spokesperson of Justice Democrats, Waleed Shahid, accusing Sherman of lying.

On Thursday the Capitol Police, who have been considered virtually unimpeachable by media since their heroic defense of the capitol on January 6, released a statement confirming CNN’s reporting and the comments from Sherman and others.

It said:

We have handled hundreds of peaceful protests, but last night’s group was not peaceful. The crowd failed to obey our lawful orders to move back from the DNC, where Members of Congress were in the building.

When the group moved dumpsters in front of the exits, pepper sprayed our officers and attempted to pick up the bike rack, our teams quickly introduced consequences – pulling people off the building, pushing them back, and clearing them from the area, so we could safely evacuate the Members and staff.

Six officers were treated for injuries, from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched.

Videos from that protest have also been shared on social media showing the clashes.

Members of both parties praised the Capitol Police for their response, including Connecticut Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who wrote, “Everyone has the right to protest peacefully, but attacks on law enforcement are unacceptable.”

IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace are claiming the Capitol Police are lying about the incident, saying the “police violently attacked” the protesters.

Some Republicans, such as Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), have already used footage from the protest and from the massive pro-Israel rally this week, in ads shared on social media.

Despite the organized “Ceasefire” protests against Israel, a recent NPR Marist poll reflected most recent polling showing broad support for Israel with Americans “more likely to sympathize with the Israelis (61%) than the Palestinians (30%)” in the war. About 2/3 of Americans in a Reuters/Ipsos poll believe Israel should try to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, though were not polled on the objectives of the groups at the protest.

This post was updated after publication.