Rep. Dan Kildee’s staff was forced to call in help from Capitol Police on Tuesday after a group of protesters swarmed their D.C. office.
Protesters in the hallway were “violently beating on all three of our congressional office doors,” which were locked and “violently shouting,” according to an aide for the Michigan Democrat.
“Our congressional office is in touch with the U.S. Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms, who have responded to the incident and are currently making arrests. Congressman Kildee is safe, and our staff is all accounted for. Staff and interns were in the office during the incident,” a Kildee spokesperson said.
Capitol Police said in a statement that they were “arresting a group that is illegally demonstrating inside the Cannon Rotunda. Demonstrations are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings. We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested. They did not stop, so we are arresting them.”
Capitol Police officials are predicting thousands of protesters will gather outside the complex for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. And the sergeant at arms has also detailed extensive security preparations ahead of the speech to lawmakers, according to a copy of the plans viewed by POLITICO.
Daniella Diaz and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
