Rep. George Santos, anti-war activist altercation ends in arrest

WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police arrested an anti-war activist on Friday following an altercation with Rep. George Santos over the Israel-Hamas war.

Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) was walking in the Longworth House Office Building when a group of activists asked him about Israel's retaliatory strikes in Gaza. The activists had been in the hallway pressing lawmakers on their positions as they walked by.

Santos said the protesters were shouting at him over his support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

"They cornered me and berated me," Santos said.

Capitol Police said they arrested Shabd Khalsa, 36, and "charged him with simple assault after an officer witnessed him have physical contact with a Congressional Staffer in the Longworth Building."

It was unclear which staffer police referred to. In video footage, Santos was walking with his aide Vish Burra.

Khalsa, who identified himself to reporters as Shabd Singh, offered a different account, saying he stepped back when Santos told him he was in his personal space. Singh said he is a Jewish American who wanted to ask lawmakers what they are doing to stop attacks on "civilians by the Israeli army in Gaza."

“My ancestors, entire branches of my family were killed in the Holocaust,” he said. “And I’m here to say, you cannot weaponize Jewish pain to continue the mass murder of civilians in Gaza.”

Santos could be heard shouting back at the protesters, calling them "human scum."

"He is a terrorist sympathizer who has no business in this building," Santos yelled.

Santos said he was carrying a two-month old baby at the time, and had planned to take the child to meet a neighboring lawmaker. He declined to identify the baby and the family.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.