White House staff were forced to hide and evacuate the building after a group of pro-Palestine protesters threatened to breach a security fence.
Footage from the heated protest on Saturday showed some demonstrators scaling the fence while others attempted to break off parts of it.
Riot police were rushed to the scene and officers were met with furious protesters chanting “f*** Joe Biden” and hurling water bottles and broken-off placard sticks.
Video from the protest shows a large group violently shaking the fence as members of the Security Services pushed back to keep them off the grounds.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service confirmed later that the clash caused some “temporary damage” to one section of the fence.
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Lt. Paul Mayhair said: “The issues were promptly repaired on site by US Secret Service support teams.
“As a precaution, some members of the media and staff in proximity to Pennsylvania Avenue were temporarily relocated while the issue was being addressed.”
The extra security fencing was put in place ahead of a demonstration opposite the White House planned for Saturday afternoon.
The protest was the latest in a series aimed at demanding the end of Israeli bombings in Gaza, which the Biden administration has supported so far.
Demonstrators could be seen holding placards reading, ‘Genocide Joe has got 2 go,’ ‘Biden had blood on his hands,’ and ‘Let Gaza live.’
The protest also condemned Biden’s decision to launch two airstrikes on Houthi rebels on Friday and Saturday to pressure the rebel group into lifting their blockade in the Red Sea.
Dan Devries, a New York resident said he attended the protest because he wants to see a free Gaza, but that he wouldn’t vote for either Biden or possible Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Devres said: “I see this war as part of the US’s drive to offset its economic decline by engaging in continual war.”
Washington resident Phil Kline held up a sign calling for Pope Francis to excommunicate Biden.
Kline argued: “I know he’s a devout Catholic. Maybe he will take this issue seriously when the pope removes him from the church. There’s no justification for bombing civilians.”
Jake and Ida Bradford, a young couple from Richmond, Virginia, who brought their two small children to the protest, said they were unsure of whether to vote for Biden in November.
Ida said: “We’re pretty disheartened. Seeing what is happening in Gaza, and the government’s actions makes me wonder what is our vote worth?”
Nearly two-thirds of the 23,843 people killed during Israel’s campaign in Gaza have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
