BREAKING: Gaza protest in front of Blinken’s house removed by state authorities

By ARLnow.com
Published July 26, 2024 at 2:35PM


Protest in front of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s house on Chain Bridge Road in January 2024 (staff photo)
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A months-long protest encampment in front of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s house has been removed. ... The round-the-clock, pro-Palestinian protest started in January of this year along the 400 block of N. Chain Bridge Road in Arlington. It featured protesters holding signs, waving flags and — occasionally — dumping fake blood on the street in front of a motorcade.

Eventually, concrete barriers were placed on the sides of the street to protect the protesters and their tents from vehicular traffic on the narrow, sidewalk-less roadway. Arlington County police were dispatched to help watch the crowd at the request of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service numerous times over the past six months.

Last week, ARLnow received a tip that a removal of the protest was imminent. ... “Law enforcement have asked the protesting organizers to meet them under a bridge oddly, where a VDOT employee threatened arrest in front of Virginia state and Arlington County police,” the tipster said. “They refused to offer any official notice or documentation when requested by the attorney representing the protesters who was present at the time.”

This morning, Chain Bridge Road — also known as State Route 123 — was closed while VDOT carried out the removal operation. Some protesters gathered on the sidewalk at the intersection with N. Glebe Road to continue demonstrating, but none were present when ARLnow drove by this afternoon.

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