Members of Congress were locked down in the Capitol and the Democratic National Committee headquarters Wednesday night before being evacuated after protesters demanding a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas clashed with Capitol Police in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington.
Among those trapped was Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who said she was with her husband and newborn baby.
"My husband, newborn, and I are in my office in the Capitol — which just went into lockdown because of these uncontrolled protestors," the Florida Republican posted on X on Wednesday night. "I bet you won't hear a word about this from the media."
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., also posted on X about the protests and being trapped and then evacuated from the DNC's building.
"I was just evacuated from the @dccc office after the building was surrounded by protestors who had blocked all modes of ingress and egress," Casten posted. "Grateful to Capitol Police for getting all members and staff out safely. To the protestors: PLEASE don't do something irresponsible."
Casten further noted that lawmakers were "rescued by armed officers who did not know the protestors' intent; they knew only that Members of Congress were inside, could not leave and that protestors would not let police through. Forcing police to guess intent is irresponsible and dangerous."
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., were in the DNC building as the protests started, a source familiar with the group of lawmakers attending a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) candidate week leadership reception told NBC News.
The protesters said they wanted to block the building's doors to force the politicians to encounter their candlelight vigil, but the U.S. Capitol Police said there were about 150 people "illegally and violently protesting" in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, according to the Associated Press.
The protesters insisted that they were "met with violence. One of them, Dani Noble, from Philadelphia, said that some of the police were wearing riot gear and were "pulling on folks that are disabled or have chronic illnesses."
Capitol Police said six officers were treated for minor injuries, with one protester being arrested for assaulting an officer.
The protest was organized by a coalition of groups that included two that have spearheaded demonstrations in Washington and other locations.
The protests come after House Democrats last week joined with almost all Republicans in a vote to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for criticizing Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has been resisting calls for a cease-fire but has called for pauses in the fighting to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and possibly to bring out hostages taken in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.