Demonstrators at pro-Trump rallies tore down and destroyed Black Lives Matter banners outside historic Black churches Saturday night in a scene one pastor says reminded her of a cross burning.
Members of the Proud Boys and thousands more of the president’s supporters and descended on D.C. Saturday. The largely maskless crowd repeated baseless claims about a rigged election and, as the night went on, grew violent.
Videos posted on Twitter show people cheering as a man pours lighter fluid on a burning Black Lives Matter sign outside Asbury United Methodist Church. The crowd, many taking videos on their cell phones, then start to chant “Fuck Antifa.”
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Tweets from a reporter with the right-wing media outlet the Daily Caller and from the president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law identified the people in the photo as members of the Proud Boys.
Another video shows a crowd ripping down a Black Lives Matter banner at the Metropolitan AME Church.
“For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings. Seeing this act on video made me both indignant and determined to fight the evil that has reared its ugly head,” the Rev. Dr. Ianther M. Mills, the senior pastor at Asbury church said in a statement Sunday.
“We are a people of faith. As horrible and disturbing as this is for us now–it doesn’t compare with the challenges and fears the men and women who started Asbury, 184 years ago faced. So, we will move forward, undaunted in our assurance that Black Lives Matter and we are obligated to continue to shout that truth without ceasing,” she wrote.
Mills also said that if a group of men of color had been witnessed destroying property, “they would have been followed and arrested.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted that the Office of Religious Affairs was working with MPD on “engaging the impacted houses of worship” and encouraged anyone with knowledge of the incidents to share what they know with officials.
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“We take these offenses seriously and we are currently investigating them as a possible hate crimes,” spokeswoman Alaina Gertz said.
On Monday, D.C. Police announced they are seeking suspects for what is currently being deemed a “destruction of property offense.” MPD reiterated that they are continuing to investigate the incident as a potential hate crime. Officials note that the designation could change as they gather further information.
Incoming Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George echoed the idea that the sign burning was evidence of an unequal justice system.
“Tonight, violent white supremacist stolen and burned a Black Lives Matter banner from Asbury United Methodist, the oldest Black Methodist church in D.C.. But yet no militarized police force used against them,” she said in a tweet.
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Council member Elissa Silverman also responded to the incident, writing on Twitter: “The sign burning was hate, it was chilling to see.”
It was the second time since the election that Trump supporters have gathered in Washington, leading to violence and numerous arrests.
D.C. Police said on Monday that 33 arrests were made on Saturday in connection with incidents that took place during the day’s demonstrations. Officials said those include the arrests of a 29-year-old D.C. man and a 39-year-old man from Minnesota, related to stabbings near Harry’s Bar, a popular spot for Trump supporters. Four victims were transported to an area hospital with non life threatening injuries as a result of the stabbings.
In a Sunday afternoon press conference, Black Lives Matter D.C. criticized the D.C. police and demanded they be held accountable for “enabling white supremacist violence” in the city.
Anthony Lorenzo Green, a core organizer with the the D.C. Black Lives Matter chapter, said Bowser and the Metropolitan Police Department failed “to protect the rights of D.C. residents and to stop the racist attacks by the Proud Boys against Black people, Black churches and others who stand against racism.”
“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 said at a Sunday afternoon press conference in Black Lives Matter Plaza.
April Goggans, also a core organizer, said Bowser’s statement carried little meaning without action attached: “She wants to talk about hate but doesn’t want to stop it,” Goggans said.
It was not the first time D.C. police were accused of favorable treatment toward the Proud Boys. After July 4 protests last year, members of the group received a police escort to Harry’s Bar after a clash outside the White House, sparking criticism.
On Sunday, local activist group ShutDownDC called for Harry’s to lose its liquor license.
This story was updated with information about D.C. Police announcing arrests and seeking suspects, the Black Lives Matter press conference, that ShutDownDC called for Harry’s to lose its liquor license and to correct Rev. Ianther Mills’ gender.
Matt Blitz contributed reporting to this story.
