The protesters, wearing shirts with the slogan "Biden Legacy = Genocide," unfurled a large Palestinian flag across Pennsylvania Avenue, and formed a human barricade by sitting in the road to block traffic. The demonstrations were large enough to force Biden's motorcade to take an alternate route from the White House to the Capitol, CNN reported. The pool traveling with the president said he took "the long way" to the Capitol, avoiding a large group of demonstrators just blocks away from the building. Activists could be heard outside as reporters loaded up into vans to head to the Capitol.
The protests continued as Biden's delayed speech finally began within the Capitol, the area practically surrounded by police vehicles and law enforcement officers who declined to speak to Rolling Stone. Despite the outsized police presence, the only protest related arrest Thursday afternoon was that of an unidentified individual who allegedly menaced protesters near the White House by revving his car engine at them. As the protest dispersed near midnight, smaller clusters of demonstrators marched in various directions into the streets surrounding the Capitol, chanting slogans of "Free Palestine," as they went.