Individuals reportedly affiliated with the hate group the Proud Boys tore down Black Lives Matter signs at two historic Black churches and burned one of them when they descended upon D.C. over the weekend to support President
Donald Trump. The actions have been widely condemned by lawmakers and the community writ large. But the president, who professes to be a “champion for religious freedom,” has yet to publicly say anything.
A pair of widely shared videos posted on Twitter shows a crowd of mostly maskless White men wearing black and yellow attire the Proud Boys’ common uniform carrying a Black Lives Matter banner into the streets and setting it on fire as they cheer. The banner shows a logo of Asbury United Methodist Church, one of D.C.’s oldest Black churches. In one of the tweets, a Daily Caller reporter identifies the crowd as members of the Proud Boys. Another church whose worshipers included
“As we’ve witnessed for many months now during this uprising and for years in our own communities, MPD does not, cannot, will not keep us safe,” Green continued.
Breitbart News reports that in June, BLM DC listed defunding the police as one of its demands during the city’s budget hearings.
#StopTheSteal RT @DrewHLive: DC: Multiple brawls break out between patriots and Antifa/BLM on the streets of DC tonight
Many BLM and Antifa have retreated behind police protection as a result #tatumreport#drewhernandezpic.twitter.com/xn1Zy12Bf3
Nee Nee Taylor, a direct action coordinator for BLM DC, told the spectators at the plaza that they did not come to the area on Saturday to counterprotest the pro-Trump rally. She said they came “to make a safer place because no place is safe in DC for black people or people of color.”
‘Defund the Police’ Activists Complain Cops Aren’t Protecting Them Enough
13 Dec 2020
Black Lives Matter DC activists complained on Sunday that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) failed to protect them while continuing to call for defunding police. The apparently conflicting statements came during a press conference held in Black Lives Matter Plaza Sunday afternoon.
Black Lives Matter DC Anthony Lorenzo Green said during the Sunday press conference that the mayor and police department failed “to protect the rights of D.C. residents” during the Stop the Steal Trump rally held in the nation’s capital on Saturday. ”
“As we’ve witnessed for many months now during this uprising and for years in our own communities, MPD does not, cannot, will not keep us safe,” Green continued.
HeadlineDec 14, 2020
In Washington, D.C., at least four people were stabbed Saturday as thousands of maskless Trump supporters rallied on the National Mall demanding the reversal of Joe Biden’s election victory. Police cordoned off parts of downtown Washington and used pepper spray and batons on counterprotesters who rallied in opposition to the Trump supporters. At least 33 people were arrested.
The stabbings occurred just minutes after members of the far-right Proud Boys organization tore a “Black Lives Matter” banner from one of the oldest African American churches in Washington and burned it in the street. Another historically Black church was similarly vandalized. In an October debate with Joe Biden, President Trump name-checked the Proud Boys and told them to “stand back and stand by.”