An individual from Illinois was taken into custody on Thursday, facing allegations related to his violent actions against police officers during a protest in Washington, D.C., which occurred during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress this past July.
Zachary Allen Kam, a 24-year-old from Chicago, was apprehended in Illinois and is facing assault charges, with plans for his first court appearance later that day. He marks at least the third individual to be charged in connection with the demonstration that took place on July 24 at Columbus Circle, situated near Washington’s Union Station.
According to a police affidavit, the incident escalated when U.S. Park Police were in the process of arresting a protester who had pulled down a flagpole at the Columbus Circle. Kam allegedly approached one of the officers, pulled him to the ground, and dragged him several feet, resulting in scrapes and bruises for the officer.
After briefly disappearing into the crowd, Kam allegedly returned within moments, targeted another officer, and forcibly pulled that officer down as well. Police apprehended Kam about four hours later, close to John Marshall Park.
Mathew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, stated, “Assaulting a federal officer during the course of a protest is not constitutionally protected speech; it constitutes a federal offense.”
While the protestors had initially secured a permit to demonstrate in front of Union Station, the U.S. Park Police revoked this permit after failing to establish contact with protest organizers that afternoon. The National Park Service reported that the cleanup and repairs at the site incurred costs exceeding $11,000.
In related incidents, Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, a 26-year-old from Richmond, Virginia, was arrested last Friday for allegedly spray-painting graffiti on a monument during the same demonstration near Union Station. Additionally, 20-year-old Isabella Giordano from Towson, Maryland, was taken into custody last month for spraying the word “Gaza” on a fountain located in front of the station.
