By Aaron Miller-
Pro-Trump demonstrators vandalised and burnt property belonging to Washington DC’s oldest Black church during MAGA protests at the weekend.
The protests followed the rejection of a last ditch effort by the U.S president’s legal team to throw out some 20million votes in Texas which went in President elect Biden’s favour, and another blow from the federal court in Wisconsin to the president Saturday, dismissing one of his few remaining lawsuits calling for the state’s election results should be thrown out.
Counter protests which took place near the pro-Trump rallies during the day, organized by activists affiliated with antifascist groups and Black Lives Matter who said they wanted to defend the city from far-right groups.
Clashes between some of the pro-Trump demonstrators clashed with counter protesters led to at least four stabbings, and eventually the damage of a church Police officers, many in riot gear, formed lines to keep the groups apart.
One dramatic moment saw police wrestle to the ground a burly man holding a flagpole bearing an American flag after he lunged through their ranks toward a group of Black Lives Matter protesters.
Hundreds of people had gathered in an area of downtown Washington near the White House known as Black Lives Matter Plaza by night time.
Officers donned protective eyewear after people in the crowd began flashing lasers in their eyes.
”The people of DC need to be clear MPD physically protected white supremacists, as they threatened lives, damaged historic churches and destroyed and burned property. MPD allowed Proud Boys to physically attack DC residents who stood against white supremacy”, an organiser from the BLM group said
Black Lives Matter also called on the capital’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, to ‘protect the people of DC and promote the values of Black Lives Matter Plaza by taking immediate action to hold the police department accountable and to protect our civil and human rights’.
Hundreds of pro-Trump protesters wearing helmets and military-style gear identifying themselves as members of the Proud Boys, chased down a man who someone in the crowd shouted was a scout for antifa. The group surrounded the man on a sidewalk, yelling “f— antifa.”
Cordon
Several cops eventually formed a protective cordon around the man, before clearing the street and allowing an ambulance to approach the scene.
A video supported by social-media research company Storyful showed a group of men, several dressed in Proud Boys attire, burning a Black Lives Matter sign that included the logo of Asbury United Methodist Church, a historic church in downtown Washington.
Storyful is owned by News Corp , the parent company of The Wall Street Journal.
The church’s senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Ianther M. Mills, said pro-Trump demonstrators had torn down the church’s sign and burned it in the street.
“It pained me especially to see our name, Asbury, in flames,” she said in a statement. “For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings.”
She added, “We are a resilient people who have trusted in God through slavery and the Underground Railroad, Jim Crow and the civil-rights movement.” She described the burning as a sign of “an apparent rise in white supremacy.” She didn’t identify the group responsible.
The protests, which started on Saturday, December 12, and ran into early Sunday morning, saw thousands gather to protest the recent election results despite all election officials confirming that no fraud took place.
They took a violent turn early Sunday morning after demonstrators stole two signs from Asbury United Methodist Church, one of which was a Black Lives Matter banner.
Footage from the protest shows the gathering of a large, cheering crowd as the group pour lighter fluid on the sign before setting it alight.