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       Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside Union Station early Friday evening as D.C. police closed the front entrances and directed people entering and leaving the station to use other doors.

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       About 300 demonstrators gathered in Columbus Park in front of the station, starting about 4:30 p.m. As of 5:20 p.m., there had been no disturbances or attempts to block road or pedestrian traffic. Taxi and ride-share lines appeared to be moving normally.

       The crowd listened a succession of speakers and marched around in front of station, but as of 8 p.m., there had been no significant clashes with the scores of police officers on the scene. The rally comes at a time of deepening conflict in the Israel-Gaza war and escalating protests in the nation’s capital and elsewhere.

       At least one person appeared to be taken into police custody. As the woman was led by officers to area behind bike racks that were being used to block the station entrances, the crowd chanted: “Let her go! Let her go!” Why the woman was detained was not immediately clear, but it happened after protesters stamped dozens of handprints, many of the blood-red, on a wall of the station.

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       A spokeswoman for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said that police arrested three people connected with the demonstration and one other person unrelated the event.

       By 9 p.m., D.C. police made “a few arrests” for defacing property, according to a spokeswoman.

       Metro said Red Line trains were temporarily bypassing Union Station. Amtrak warned customers of possible delays at the station, as did the Maryland Department of Transportation, which recommended that MARC train riders allot for extra time because of the gathering.

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