Demonstrators have turned up at the secretary of state’s home and even splashed fake blood on his motorcade.
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Organizers of protests outside the home of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken have called their effort “Occupy Blinken.”
For Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, the conflict in Gaza has come home.
Protesters angry over Israel’s assault on Gaza have become a regular presence outside Mr. Blinken’s residence in Northern Virginia, with some camping out for days in roadside tents. Palestinian flags and handmade signs express their fury at a diplomat who has become the face of President Biden’s policy toward the conflict.
“Bloody Blinken lives here,” read one this week. “Caution: War Criminal Inside,” read another. Passing cars drove over the words “Secretary of genocide” scrawled along the road in pastel chalk colors.
And when Mr. Blinken’s official motorcade pulled out of his driveway one day in early January, protesters splashed fake blood on the armored black Suburban in which he was riding.
Organizers of the protests have even given their effort a name, “Occupy Blinken,” and said in a statement that their encampment has held more than 100 people. (On Thursday afternoon perhaps two dozen were visible, along with numerous police officers and vehicles.) They have “braved cold temperatures, winds and rain, 24 hours a day, to plead with Blinken” to support an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, the statement said.
Some neighbors are unhappy about the commotion on their typically serene street, according to one. A digital traffic sign imported by police warns drivers to slow down and instructs “NO HORN BLOWING,” suggesting that expressions of support have created unwelcome noise in an area that is also home to at least two ambassadors from Persian Gulf countries.
For Mr. Blinken, it is surely a startling turn of events. For much of the past two years he has been a hero in many quarters of the United States and Europe for championing the defense of Ukraine and demanding accountability for Russian war atrocities. Now he is condemned by protesters who are furious that the Biden administration has provided military hardware and political cover for what they call a morally outrageous and even criminal Israeli response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, which has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
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Source: nytimes.com
