Video posted to Instagram Wednesday shows hundreds of maggots, crickets and mealworms dumped around the famed Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly staying.
The video, posted to social media by the Palestinian Youth Movement and its DMV chapter, shows crickets on a floor of the hotel’s common spaces and maggots and mealworms crawling across a table, where Israeli and American flags and drinking glasses appear in the background.
“Palestine protestors manufactured chaos at the Watergate Hotel last night so that Netanyahu, Israeli Mossad agents, and the Secret Service had no peace as they continue to terrorize our people,” the Palestinian Youth Movement’s DMV chapter posted on its social media, alongside the video.
The video also captured a message over the hotel’s PA system, announcing that the fire alarm had been pulled.
Netanyahu is in the nation’s capital to meet with lawmakers and deliver a joint session address to Congress. His visit has been met with large throngs of protesters voicing their support for Palestinians.
A spokesperson for the hotel confirmed it was aware of the incident and had cleaned up the mess.
“We are aware of the social media video circulating on multiple platforms involving The Watergate Hotel and the unfortunate incident that occurred at the property yesterday. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our guests and staff,” a spokesperson for the hotel said in a statement to multiple media outlets.
“We took the necessary steps to ensure the property has been sanitized and is now operating as normal. We are cooperating fully with authorities, who are handling the situation. As this is an open case, we are unable to provide any further details at this time.”
Zaid Khatib, 27, an organizer with the DMV chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said he received the video footage from an anonymous tipster and had his group post it to Instagram, but denied being involved in the actual stunt.
“It reflects a tremendous security failure on their part,” he told The Washington Post, referring to law enforcement. “The city of D.C. and the United States government has stolen tens of millions of dollars to roll out the red carpet for a war criminal and even then, they can’t stop something as simple as maggots being dropped … at the Watergate Hotel.”
Protests broke out Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill ahead of Netanyahu’s speech, resulting in the arrest of about 200 anti-Israel agitators.
Many in the crowds of demonstrators protested the killings of more than 39,000 Palestinians in the war. Others condemned Netanyahu’s inability to free Israeli and American hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7 attack.
More than 1,000 protesters gathered Wednesday morning on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Capitol, according to The Associated Press. As of Wednesday afternoon, the protests have escalated, with multiple arrests and police deploying pepper spray into the crowds.