The day began quietly in parks near the Capitol building with a number of speeches, including one by President Donald Trump, explained Pinhas Jarabi to Channel 12.
"At the end of his speech, we began progressing toward the Capitol building," Jarabi said. "When we arrived, we went up the steps and encountered a police barrier. We began to protest in front of the police.
"Some people began to act unruly and the police responded with force. They sprayed us with gas and rubber bullets - I got hit by one on my ribs as well," added Jarabi. "At a certain point, we flowed into the House of Representatives; the police barrier was broken through with the force of the masses of people."
The rioters proceeded to the third floor where they encountered a closed wooden door with glass that they didn't succeed in breaking through. "Someone decided to break the glass and suddenly we saw police aiming their weapons at us through the door," said Jarabi. "At that moment we decided to withdraw."
Despite the presence of far-right and white supremacist groups and a number of reported antisemitic symbols and incidents at the protests and riots, groups of Jews arrived to the area to join the protests throughout the day, with at least eight buses organized by Orthodox Jews present, according to one account given to JTA.
Israeli flags were also spotted at the protests and riots.
Many Jewish participants condemned the violence that occurred, while expressing their continuing support for Trump.
A reporter for the Israeli Channel 13 news was harassed by a pro-Trump protester at the scene on Wednesday, who called him a "yid" and a "lying Israeli."
Mary Miller, a newly elected Republican representative from Illinois, told a crowd of protesters that “Hitler was right on one thing.” She later apologized for the comments.