The cleanup from protests outside Union Station, connected to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress, is underway Thursday morning as officials prepare for the prime minister’s visit to the White House.
Protestors used red, green and black spray paint — marking the fountains, statues and walkways with symbols and words like “free Palestine” and “let Gaza live.”
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
National Park Service workers replace one of the flags in front of Union Station on July 25, 2024 in Washington, DC. The flags were removed during the protests surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress which occured as the Israel Hamas war inches closer to a ten month anniversary.
(Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
National Park Service workers attempt to remove graffiti at Union Station on July 25, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
(Getty Images/Kent Nishimura)
Getty Images/Kent Nishimura
National Park Service workers attempt to remove graffiti at Union Station on July 25, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
(Getty Images/Kent Nishimura)
Getty Images/Kent Nishimura
The National Park Service has put up metal barriers around Columbus Circle so workers can pick up trash and clean the marble fountain, statues, walkways and the Freedom Bell filled with graffiti.
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
Leftover graffiti from the pro-Palestinian protests around Union Station during Netanyahu’s visit.
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
The National Park Service uses a chemical called Elephant Snot to loosen the paint before it is power-washed. Several treatments over days will be needed.
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
Protestors set the U.S. flags and effigies on fire at Union Station.
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
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Clean up begins outside Union Station after protests against Netanyahu’s DC visit
The cleanup from protests outside Union Station, connected to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress, is underway Thursday morning as officials prepare for the prime minister’s visit to the White House.
Protestors used red, green and black spray paint — marking fountains, statues and walkways with symbols and words like “free Palestine” and “let Gaza live.”
The National Park Service has put up metal barriers around Columbus Circle, so it can pick up trash, and treat and clean the marble and stone fountain, statues and walkways, as well as the Freedom Bell, a replica of the Liberty Bell.
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The park service says cleaning the marble and stone is delicate and difficult because paint seeps into it. They use a chemical actually called Elephant Snot to loosen the paint before it’s power washed. Several treatments, over the course of days, will be needed.
People passing by seem shocked by what they saw.
One man, Joe, told WTOP “it should have been prevented, I don’t know why they’re allowed to graffiti so much, spray paint so much.”
Another woman — who did not want to give her name — said she’d “never seen anything like this, it’s pretty bad.” Exiting Union Station into Columbus Circle, commuters stop, take pictures and some stand with their mouths open.
At least 15 people were arrested in the protests, police said, which shut down some streets in the area and forced Union Station to close some of its entrances. Some people missed trains, unable to get into the station on time because of the protests.
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D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the department will continue to support peaceful protests, but must hold accountable those who commit criminal acts while in the city.
Shutdowns will continue on Thursday as Netanyahu visits the White House. Street closures are outlined below.
Posted closures during Netanyahu’s visit
The closures started on Sunday and are expected to last through Saturday, July 27.
The following streets are posted as Emergency No Parking through Saturday, July 27 at 3 p.m.:
Virginia Avenue NW from Rock Creek Parkway to New Hampshire Avenue
Jamal Khashoggi Way from Virginia Avenue to F Street NW
F Street NW from Rock Creek Parkway to 25th Street
27th Street NW from Virginia Avenue to K Street
2600 block of I Street NW
The following streets will be closed to vehicle traffic on Sunday, July 21 starting at 10 p.m. through Friday, July 26 at 6 a.m.:
Rock Creek Parkway NW between Virginia Avenue and the Potomac River Freeway southbound
Virginia Avenue NW from Rock Creek Parkway to New Hampshire Avenue (eastbound lanes)
Jamal Khashoggi Way (southbound lanes) between Virginia Avenue and F Street NW
F Street NW from Rock Creek Parkway to 25th Street
27th Street NW from Virginia Avenue to K Street
2600 block of I Street NW
27th Street ramp from northbound Potomac River Freeway
Traffic traveling south on Rock Creek Parkway will be diverted east on I Street from Virginia Avenue NW to Potomac River Freeway. Westbound traffic on Virginia Avenue NW will be able to turn north on Rock Creek Parkway.
All traffic from Ohio Drive SW will be diverted north on Potomac River Freeway.
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Due to First Amendment activity, plan for intermittent street closures and traffic delays, D.C. police said. Police are advising drivers to consider alternative routes.
Motorists can access businesses and residences around the Watergate Hotel in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood through Jamal Khashoggi Way and 25th Street NW and 27th Street and Virginia Avenue NW.
Residents can access the Watergate Hotel on foot by 27th Street and Virginia Avenue NW, 25th Street and Jamal Khashoggi Way NW and 25th Street and F Street NW.
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A student journalist in Washington, D.C.; Grok image
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During the fall of 2026, the Student Free Press Association, parent organization for The College Fix, will offer paid internships at Washington, D.C.-based media organizations.
Who is eligible?
The internships are open to college students and recent college graduates.
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Where will I work?
SFPA will match its intern with an appropriate host organization. Previous fellows have worked at National Review, Real Clear Politics, Daily Wire, Daily Caller, Reason, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, The Dispatch, EWTN, and Just The News, among others.
(To learn more about their experiences, go here and here.)
How long will it last?
The internship will run for about 14 weeks, beginning in September. The specific start and end dates will be determined with the intern and media organization.
What will it pay?
SFPA will provide a stipend of $8,400.
Are there other benefits?
In addition to supplying the internship, the Student Free Press Association will offer customized career advice and networking opportunities.
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When is the deadline?
Applications must be received by July 15, 2026.
How do I apply?
Email a brief resume, cover letter, and links to three writing samples to internships [at] thecollegefix.com, subject line: fall 2026 internship.
LAKE CITY, S.C. (WPDE) — A community art project with roots in Florence County is now on display on one of the nation’s biggest cultural stages.
ArtFields, the nationally recognized art festival based in Lake City, was selected as South Carolina’s official host for the National Scrollathon, a collaborative artmaking project that brings together people from across the country to share their stories through fabric scrolls.
The project is now being unveiled at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., giving Lake City and the Pee Dee region a place in a nationwide artistic celebration.
Created by brothers and artists Steven and William Ladd, Scrollathon invites participants to design personal fabric scrolls that reflect their experiences, hopes and dreams.
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The individual pieces are then combined into a larger work of art that represents communities from across the United States.
Earlier this year, dozens of residents in Lake City participated in the project through an initiative called “Tied Together,” creating scrolls that shared their personal stories and connections to their community.
Carla Angus, an ArtFields consultant, said the project’s impact comes from bringing people together through creativity and storytelling.
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“Everyone who was invited receives these strips of material and fabric, and they select their colors, they select what they want to put together and they create a story behind their scroll,” Angus said. “That’s what’s so powerful about the project because it brings all these different people together with different backgrounds and different experiences.”
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In addition to Lake City, Scrollathon events were held at other South Carolina cultural institutions, including the Gibbes Museum of Art and the International African American Museum.
Now, those local contributions are part of a much larger display.
More than 250,000 participants from all 50 states and U.S. territories contributed to the National Scrollathon.
The collection is being showcased at the Kennedy Center, where visitors can experience what organizers describe as a visual representation of the American story.
For Angus, seeing scrolls created in Lake City displayed alongside contributions from across the country is a proud moment.
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“When I look at those scrolls, I know those are thousands upon thousands of individuals that have shared their stories,” Angus said. “Now they have become one unified piece of artwork.”
Angus described the experience as surreal and said it demonstrates how art can connect people regardless of where they come from.
“It’s almost surreal because what we want to do is connect people through the arts,” Angus said. “To be a part of something that is so large, bringing so many states together, it shows how powerful art can be.”
The National Scrollathon will remain on display through Labor Day as part of the Kennedy Center’s yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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For Lake City and Florence County residents, the exhibit represents an opportunity to see their stories become part of a national conversation, one scroll at a time.
The U.S. Supreme Court this year already has given a boost to President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in the nationwide battle over redrawing electoral maps. In the coming weeks, it could rule in favor of the Republicans in two more significant cases related to elections ahead of the November elections that will decide control of Congress.
