Virginia man charged with defacing monument during Netanyahu protests in DC

The Associated Press
October 4, 2024, 4:49 PM


The National Park Service has put up metal barriers around Columbus Circle so workers can pick up trash and clean the marble fountain, statues, walkways and the Freedom Bell filled with graffiti. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Virginia man was arrested Friday on a charge that he spray-painted graffiti on a monument in the nation’s capital during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July.

Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, of Richmond, Va., was charged in a complaint with one count of destruction of federal property. He was among thousands of protesters who gathered in Washington, D.C., on July 24 to condemn Netanyahu’s visit. … Some demonstrators who gathered outside Union Station that day removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place. Others burned flags and sprayed graffiti on structures in Columbus Circle, in front of Union Station.

Videos posted on social media showed Mahdawi climbing the statue of Christopher Columbus in the middle of Columbus Circle and using red spray paint to write “HAMAS IS COMIN” on the monument, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. He also spray-painted an inverted red triangle above the slogan, the affidavit says. … The FBI later received a tip from a witness who knew Mahdawi from a Richmond gym and recognized his image in a police bulletin.

A group of protesters had a permit to demonstrate in front of Union Station, but the U.S. Park Police said it revoked the permit after it couldn’t reach protest organizers that afternoon. The National Park Service estimated that it cost more than $11,000 to clean up and fix damage at the site.

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