Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill joined the growing chorus of lawmakers and officials condemning the violent pro-Hamas demonstration outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization. Exalting them and burning the American flag is disgraceful and wrong, and defacing public property is illegal,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “Hateful and antisemitic messages and threats against Jews have no place in America and must be universally condemned.”

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the House minority leader, said during a Thursday morning press conference, “It is unacceptable to deface public property, desecrate the American flag, threaten Jews with violence or promote terrorist organizations like Hamas — unacceptable.”

“Anyone who engages in that activity should be held accountable to the full extent of the law,” Jeffries continued. “Not that complicated.”

Jeffries pushed back on the notion, presented by a reporter, that the protesters are affiliated with the left wing of the Democratic Party.

“These are individuals who have been aggressively protesting members of the House Democratic Caucus, every week, every month, year after year, from Oct. 7 in connection with our support for the special relationship between the United States and Israel,” Jeffries said. “So that’s a factual assumption that is inaccurate.”

Nine people were arrested at the demonstration, according to D.C. Metropolitan Police, including two for assaulting police officers. Others were charged with “crowding, obstructing [or] incommoding” and crossing a police line. No one has been charged, as of yet, in the theft and burning of the American flag outside D.C.’s Union Station or pro-Hamas vandalism of statues outside the train station.

Jeffries also spoke about Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

He denied having seen Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) protest sign, which called Netanyahu a war criminal and described him as guilty of genocide, saying that he had been “focused on the speech that was being delivered and processing the information that was being communicated.”

Pressed on whether he thought Tlaib’s protest was appropriate — she was approached multiple times by House floor staff, and temporarily put down the sign — Jeffries said Tlaib is “an elected member of Congress” who “has a responsibility to her district in the same way that I have a responsibility to my district.”

Asked by JI after the press conference what he thought of Netanyahu’s speech and whether it had been productive in fostering bipartisan support for Israel, Jeffries focused his response on the White House meetings scheduled for Thursday between President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Netanyahu.

“The meetings that are going to take place today between the prime minister and the president of the United States of America and Vice President Harris will be important in the context of the U.S.-Israel relationship, building upon his visit to Congress yesterday,” Jeffries said.

Responding to a question about lawmakers who boycotted the speech and have criticized Netanyahu for not having finalized a cease-fire deal, Jeffries said it’s his “hope and expectation” that a key topic of discussion between Biden, Harris and Netanyahu will be the cease-fire plan laid out by Biden.

Jeffries emphasized that the proposal laid out by Biden supports “the defeat of Hamas, the freeing of the hostages who have now been held in horrific conditions for close to 300 days, including American citizens alongside Israeli citizens, and for the immediate surging of humanitarian assistance into Gaza to help out civilians who have been in harm’s way through no fault of their own.”

Jewish Insider congressional correspondent Emily Jacobs contributed reporting.