“Hamas is coming” was scrawled in red across the face of the Columbus Monument at Union Station, alongside slogans, such as “free Gaza” and “all Zionists are bastards.” The riots coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

Anderson described the flag burning as a personal affront. “As someone who’s a former Green Beret who spent over 10 years in the U.S. Army, someone who did over 150 funerals in Arlington National Cemetery where I laid that flag on our service members before their family members saw them laid to rest, it hit hard to me, it hit incredibly hard,” he said. He recounted his experiences in Afghanistan, including the loss of five of his own soldiers and returning home with their flag-draped coffins for their last fight home. Anderson emphasized that the desecration of the flag at Union Station symbolized a broader disunity within the country.