MIAMI — Barricades surrounded Miami Beach City Hall and dozens of police officers descended on the area Tuesday morning in anticipation of a pro-Palestinian rally calling on U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami Gardens, to withdraw her support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Protesters had advertised the event as taking place at Wilson’s Miami Beach satellite office, located in City Hall. But police sought to ensure that the rally didn’t take place inside or directly outside the building. An officer said the group could stand in a designated “First Amendment zone” in nearby Pride Park but ultimately allowed the protesters to instead set up on the swale next to the sidewalk across from City Hall on 17th Street.

Police appeared to outnumber protesters, with more than two dozen uniformed Miami Beach officers and several Miami-Dade officers in the area.

About two dozen people peacefully held signs and chanted about their opposition to the war and Wilson’s strong support for Israel in recent months, including a vote in November to approve $14 billion in aid to the country.

“Frederica, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” protesters chanted. Some held signs that read “Fund care, not killing,” calling on Wilson to redirect aid to Israel toward the needs of her district, which includes parts of Miami Beach, Miami, North Miami and Miami Gardens, among other cities.

The rally was organized by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace, Al-Awda and Dream Defenders. Protesters said they planned to deliver letters to Wilson’s office in Miami Gardens, following up on a letter they delivered there in February.

“We are here today in solidarity with our sisters and our brothers who are being massacred in Palestine, asking Rep. Wilson on what side she will stand,” said Phillip Agnew, co-founder of Dream Defenders and Black Men Build. “You cannot claim to stand as a progressive in the United States of America while signing off on genocide a world away.”

Reached by phone, Wilson’s communications director declined to comment on the protest.

In a February statement about her support for the aid package, Wilson said it is “imperative that we remain steadfast in supporting one of our strongest allies, especially during such a critical period, because when Israel is strong, America is strong.”

Pro-Palestinian protests have been a source of friction in Miami Beach since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and Israel’s war in Gaza that has killed more than 34,000 people. Mayor Steven Meiner, who is Jewish and a vocal supporter of Israel, has railed against protesters, including their use of the controversial chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

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