Gaza protests get personal as lower-level federal officials become fair game

Pro-Palestinian protesters are looking for new avenues to make their voices heard, moving not only to the homes of government officials but now to mid-level managers.

This week, a group bearing bullhorns gathered outside the home of Jessica Lewis, assistant secretary for political-military affairs at the State Department. The protesters shouted while holding up posters reading, “14,500+ children murdered thanks to Jessica Lewis” and “Jessica Lewis you have blood on your hands.”

Police were called at 7:47 a.m. to her Capitol Hill home and soon broke up the disturbance as residents walked their children to school.

The movement has grown increasingly personal in recent weeks as Congress approved further funding for Israel to advance its war against Hamas, which the protesters say has led to far too many civilian casualties.

Georgetown University professor Michael Kazin told Politico in February that he couldn’t “think of a demo held at the house of a cabinet official or leading senator” before the modern era. That story was about protesters camping outside Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s home.

Blinken is not an elected official and serves at the pleasure of President Joe Biden. But some protesters are now targeting people at an even lower level who they feel have a role to play in Israel’s war campaign.

“Advocates are looking for more ways to draw more attention to their issue and to their cause, and one way to do it is to find a new way, a new thing to do,” Peter Loge, a political communications professor at George Washington University, said. “Two dozen people on the National Mall protesting is a regular Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C. Going to someone’s house is different.”

The practice has become somewhat less different in recent years, though the target is usually a very high-level public official. Protesters set up outside of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in 2021, for example, drawing a bipartisan rebuke. The next year, more than 100 immigrants bused from Texas were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’s official residence.

There are two questions to consider, Loge says, when it comes to protests at someone’s private home. One is whether it’s appropriate, and the other is whether it’s effective.

“I understand why they would do it. I think it’s a tactic,” he said. “Strategically, if you want to change people’s minds or change public policy, I’m not sure it has a great effect [in Lewis’s case]. Assistant secretaries don’t have any policymaking power. You’re not talking to the decision maker, but you’re making noise at somebody who talks to somebody who talks to the decision maker.”

Washington, D.C., police spokesman Lee Lepe said there were no arrests outside Lewis’s home and that “PD continues to monitor for First Amendment activities throughout the District.” A State Department spokesperson said: “Our position on the right to peaceful protest is well known. We refer you to local law enforcement for further information.”

Protesting at a public place such as the Capitol, National Mall, or White House is generally seen as a protected First Amendment activity. Lines get blurred when it comes to private residences, especially those in busy neighborhoods. The Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance in 2021 banning protests within 300 feet of a targeted residential dwelling.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have been particularly intense since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks sparked the latest round of conflict in Israel.

They have trailed Biden nearly everywhere he goes since that date, including fundraisers, family vacations, and even funerals. Last month, a group camped out at Biden’s hotel in Scranton, Pennsylvania, chanting for three hours late at night, blasting rap music and banging on drums in an effort to keep him from sleeping.

Demonstrators at Blinken’s house have yelled at his children while pouring out gallons of fake blood, Politico reported. More broadly, demonstrators have blocked traffic in major cities and paraded through retail stores in support of their cause.

As the Israel-Hamas war drags on, those groups may continue seeking out new ways to make sure everyone knows who they are. Loge said it’s important to balance the need to protest with the need to have real conversation rather than shouting.

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Former President Barack Obama made a similar point when pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a joint fundraiser he was hosting with Biden and Bill Clinton.

“Here’s the thing,” he said. “You can’t just talk and not listen. Because that’s part of democracy. Part of democracy is not just talking — it’s listening. … That’s what the other side does.”