WASHINGTON (AP) — A Virginia man was arrested Friday on charges that he sprayed graffiti on a monument in the nation’s capital during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in July.
Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, of Richmond, Virginia, was charged in a complaint with destruction of federal property. He was one of thousands of protesters who gathered in Washington DC on July 24 to condemn Netanyahu’s visit.
Some protesters who gathered outside Union Station that day removed American flags and raised Palestinian flags in their place. Others burned flags and sprayed graffiti on buildings 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 said.
The FBI later received a tip from a witness who knew Mahdawi from a gym in Richmond 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 being unable to reach protest organizers that afternoon. The National Park Service estimated it cost more than $11,000 to clean up the site and repair the damage.
“Politically motivated destruction or damage to federal property is not protected speech, it is a crime,” Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement.
Mahdawi was scheduled to appear in court for the first time in Virginia on Friday.
A Maryland woman was arrested last month on a related charge. Isabella Giordano, 20, of Towson, is accused of using red spray paint to write “Gaza” on a fountain in front of Union Station and spray-painting the base of two of the flagpoles at Columbus Circle.
