An Instagram video posted Wednesday shows hundreds of mealworms, maggots and crickets crawling around the Watergate Hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staying during his visit to D.C., raising questions about how protesters who claimed to unleash the vermin were able to get onto the property as the area has been under tight security.
The video, posted jointly to Instagram by the Palestinian Youth Movement and its DMV chapter, depicts swarms of crickets on the hotel’s floor and claims protesters triggered the hotel’s fire alarm “to ensure that there will be no rest before Netanyahu and Congress disgraces themselves in front of the world” when the Israeli leader addressed Congress in a joint meeting Wednesday. The video also shows maggots and mealworms crawling across a table set with drinking glasses as Israeli and American flags stand side by side in the background.
An official familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security matters said the video appeared to be authentic.
Residents of the Watergate complex said U.S. Secret Service and D.C. police set up checkpoints over the weekend to vet anyone entering the property.
“The Watergate facility has an expansive footprint and remains open for businesses, residences and guests,” said Abel Trevino, a spokesperson for a public safety team made up of local and federal agencies staffing Netanyahu’s visit to the District. “At no time was there any threat to our protectees.”
The hotel, whose answering machine ironically greets callers with “There’s no need to break in” as a nod to its storied history, said in a statement it was aware of the video and “the unfortunate incident that occurred at the property yesterday.”
“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our guests and staff,” the statement from a hotel spokesperson said. “We took the necessary steps to ensure the property has been sanitized and is now operating as normal. We are cooperating fully with authorities, who are handling the situation. As this is an open case, we are unable to provide any further details at this time.”
A D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson said in a statement that the agency had fire inspectors stationed at Netanyahu’s hotel “at the request of the United States Secret Service,” and that after the alarm sounded, fire officials “determined there was no fire emergency and any fire department response was cancelled.”
Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Zaid Khatib, 27, an organizer with the DMV chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement said an anonymous tipster sent the video to his group, which in turn posted it Wednesday morning.
Khatib said he was not involved in this protest and did not know who was responsible, but he said protesters have also held noise demonstrations outside the hotel every morning and night to make sure Netanyahu “will enjoy no rest while he is here.”
The releasing of maggots, he said, reflects “the fact that all of D.C. from organizations to individuals reject the stay of a war criminal in our city.”
Khatib said he does not know if there are more protests planned for inside the Watergate Hotel.
“It reflects a tremendous security failure on their part,” he said, referring to law enforcement. “The city of D.C. and the United States government has stolen tens of millions of dollars to roll out the red carpet for a war criminal and even then, they can’t stop something as simple as maggots being dropped … at the Watergate Hotel.”