A man from Virginia was arrested on Friday for allegedly spray-painting graffiti on a monument in Washington, D.C., during protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's July address to Congress, The Associated Press reported.
Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, from Richmond, Virginia, faces a federal charge of destruction of property. He was part of a large group of demonstrators gathered in the nation's capital on July 24 to protest Netanyahu’s visit.
On that day, some protesters near Union Station took down American flags and replaced them with Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags. Others burned flags and defaced structures in Columbus Circle, in front of the station, with graffiti.
According to an FBI affidavit, social media videos showed Mahdawi scaling the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle and using red spray paint to write “HAMAS IS COMIN” on the monument. He also spray-painted an inverted red triangle above the words, according to AP.
The FBI received a tip from someone who recognized Mahdawi from a gym in Richmond after seeing him in a police bulletin.
Although protesters had a permit to demonstrate outside Union Station, US Park Police revoked it when they couldn’t reach the organizers later in the day. The National Park Service estimated that repairing the damage and cleaning up the area cost over $11,000.
Last month, a woman from Maryland was also arrested in connection with the protests. Isabella Giordano, 20, of Towson, is accused of spray-painting “Gaza” on a fountain near Union Station and vandalizing the base of two flagpoles in Columbus Circle.