Hollywood stars, journalists and prominent politicians were met with a crowd of protesters of the Israel–Hamas war outside Saturday’s White House Correspondents Dinner.
There has been growing public discord over the war and President Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict, as well as mainstream media’s coverage of it.
This year’s event at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. — where the dinner has been held for decades — is headlined by Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost, with several stars also in attendance, including Chris Pine, Molly Ringwald, Questlove and Rachel Brosnahan. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are also at the dinner.
However, attendees were greeted by demonstrators holding banners and chanting “Free, free Palestine” and calls for a “ceasefire” as they arrived, according to videos posted on social media. At one point, protesters also dropped a Palestinian flag out of one of the Washington Hilton’s windows.
Biden reportedly avoided the large protest at the front of the hotel by arriving through a back entrance. But other attendees were seen in social videos walking through the demonstrations.
The Associated Press reported that local law enforcement and the Secret Service arranged extra street closures and other measures to ensure the “highest levels of safety and security for attendees,” according to Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
Guglielmi added that the agency was working with local police to protect demonstrators’ right to assemble, however, “we will remain intolerant to any violent or destructive behavior.”
The latest demonstrations came after student protesters took to college campuses across the country this week to express their discontent of the Israel-Hamas war. The protests led to multiple arrests at Emerson College in Boston and the University of Southern California after university officials called police to end the demonstrations and make arrests.
