(NewsNation) — A group of House Republicans raised U.S. flags outside of Union Station in Washington, D.C., after protesters burned them down.
Thousands of protesters against the war in Gaza converged on the city Wednesday to condemn Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit, chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
The protests became chaotic when a group pulled down three American flags from flagpoles, burned them along with an effigy of Netanyahu, and vandalized the park in front of the station with anti-Israel and pro-Hamas graffiti.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, who was one of the lawmakers to gather and replace American flags, told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo he thinks the violent protesters are “bused in” by radical groups that are funded by Iran.
Dr. Cornel West also joined “CUOMO” to discuss the impact of the protests.
West believes the protesters were simply “taking a moral stand.”
“The flag might mean something differently to different people,” West said Thursday on “CUOMO.” “These young folks aren’t tied to Iran. They see the flag and they hear rationalizations of massacres and genocides.”
