President Joe Biden has faced substantial and increasing pressure from his left flank to abandon his stated support for Israel amid the Jewish nation's ongoing conflict against Hamas in Gaza that was sparked by the deadly wave of Hamas terror attacks and kidnappings in southern Israel on October 7 last year.

That pressure culminated in a massive leftist protest outside the White House on Saturday to mark eight months since the conflict began that featured explicit anti-Biden, anti-Israel, anti-war, pro-Palestinian, and even pro-Hamas messages, according to the Washington Examiner.

The coordinated and planned unrest, which prompted heightened security measures around the presidential residence, included protesters using smoke flares and hurling various objects and epithets against law enforcement while law enforcement responded with pepper spray to keep protesters at bay but made no observed arrests.

Additional security measures deployed ahead of planned protest

Fox News reported Saturday morning that increased security preparations were made Friday night into Saturday morning outside the White House in expectation of massive planned demonstrations for the weekend to mark the eight-month anniversary of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

Those preparations included the installation of additional barriers and anti-climb fencing to supplement the normal security fencing around the White House, and likely also included the advanced deployment and staging of additional law enforcement.

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the outlet, "In preparation for the events this weekend in Washington D.C. that have the potential for large crowds to gather, additional public safety measures, including anti-scale fencing, have been put in place near the White House complex."

Leading the leftist demonstration was a group known as the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, but they were joined in organizing the protest by CODEPINK and the Council on American Islamic Relations, among other smaller leftist groups.

Biden specifically targeted by anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protesters

A separate report from Fox News later on Saturday revealed that the advanced security measures were justified as thousands of leftist protesters, many flying Palestinian flags and wearing the distinctive black and white keffiyehs on their heads or shoulders, quickly surrounded the White House for the protest that lasted from the late morning through the afternoon and into the evening.

Some of the protesters even wore the green and white Hamas headband, including one man decked out in camouflage fatigues who held aloft a bloody Biden mask. Numerous anti-Biden, anti-Israel, and anti-war signs were also carried by the protesters, and the incumbent Democratic president seeking re-election was accused of committing and supporting a "genocide" of the Palestinian people by continuing to arm Israel.

Multiple monuments within reach of the protesters were defaced and vandalized with anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian graffiti, and at one point the protesters formed a human chain that completely surrounded the White House with a red banner dubbed "the People's Red Line."

The red banner was an overt reference to President Biden's recent statement that Israel had not yet crossed his own "red line" with its latest offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the last major stronghold of Hamas, despite his own prior warnings against the assault.

Protestors begin to form a “red-line” around the White House, to represent the “red-line” crossed upon Israel’s military offensive in Rafah pic.twitter.com/UU4u9Y2Srd

— Charlie Ehrman (@EhrmanCharlie) June 8, 2024

No reported arrests; Biden wasn't even there

The Examiner noted that U.S. Park Police appeared to attempt to arrest one female protester for unknown reasons but ultimately let her go when they were physically and verbally assailed by the unruly crowd of protesters who only relented after being hit with mace and pepper spray. Per a check in the afternoon with the D.C. Metro Police and U.S. Secret Service, however, it did not appear that any arrests were made.

Ironically enough, the intended target of the massive demonstration, President Biden, wasn't even at the White House during the protest as he was still in France for the D-Day anniversary ceremony and an official state visit with French President Emmanuel Macron.