24 pro-Palestine protesters arrested outside of Senator Amy Klobuchar's office

Two-dozen pro-Palestine protesters were arrested outside of Senator Amy Klobuchar's office Wednesday afternoon, blocking traffic as they protested her attendance at Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress.

Protesters arrived to Klobuchar's office in the Downtown East neighborhood at 5 p.m. and hosted guest speakers before taking to the street and blocking the on-ramp to southbound I-35 and parts of Washington Avenue.

Traffic was blocked due to protesters and the heavy police presence until around 8:30 p.m. The Minnesota State Patrol, Minneapolis Police Department and Hennepin County Sheriff's Department were in attendance, and eventually state troopers began to round up demonstrators, arresting 24 in total.

Those arrested were placed in zip-ties before being taken from the scene by bus. 23 protesters of the 24 arrested were cited for disobeying lawful orders and await arraignment, with one being taken to the Hennepin County Jail.

"We knew that Netanyahu had been invited to speak at a joint session of Congress for quite some time," said Drake Myers from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee. "We often protest [at Klobuchar's office.] She is someone who's accepted $664,000 from AIPAC, which is this American Israel Public Affairs Committee that donates money to different politicians campaigns."

In 2024 , the largest contributor to her campaign was AIPAC, with $108,400 donated.

Klobuchar was among those who gave a standing ovation to Netanyahu as he addressed Congress on Capitol Hill, despite growing criticism and concern over Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, with the number of Palestinians killed now numbering in the tens of thousands since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Palestinian military group Hamas.

Some Democrats critical of Israel's continued actions in the Gaza Strip chose not to attend Netanyahu's address, with Minnesota's 7th District Rep. Ilhan Omar among them. 4th District Rep. Betty McCollum meanwhile watched the address from her office.

"We were calling for Netanyahu to be arrested as a war criminal," says Meyers about the goal of Wednesday's rally. "The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Kareem Khan is seeking an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, and so we were calling for his arrest and for an end to U.S. aid to Israel."

Meyers shares optimism about further protests and organizing despite the current legal battles.

"We're well organized with the National Lawyers Guild locally, who provide pro bono legal counseling and representation, so we'll have an arraignment, and then we'll go through the process," says Meyer. "I think our main hope is that we are able to get back out there and continue our organizing and activism."

Bring Me The News has reached out to both Minnesota State Patrol and Senator Amy Klobuchar for comment but have not responded at this time.

Related: Pro-Palestine protesters briefly close Lowry Tunnel in Minneapolis