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Trump Supporters Attacked, Freedom Plaza Burned After Peaceful MAGA March

Holly MatkinNovember 16, 2020

Washington, DC – Four police officers were injured and at least 20 people were arrested during violent clashes between antifa and President Donald Trump supporters in the nation’s capital over the weekend.

An estimated 100,000 Trump supporters gathered in the nation’s capital on Saturday to attend the “Million MAGA March,” BuzzFeed News reported.

Many members of the group disputed the projected outcome of the Presidential election and have alleged that the election was rigged against President Trump.

The rally was held in support of the President as he contests the election results, according to FOX News.

Violence erupted when a small group of Trump supporters tried to enter  Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House.

They were confronted by hundreds of counter-protesters who proceeded to tear their pro-Trump flags and MAGA hats away from them and set them on fire, FOX News reported.

The mob doused members of the pro-Trump group with water while taunting and insulting them.

Video footage showed the rioters surrounding and harassing a pro-Trump family with children as they walked down a city sidewalk.

According to a tweet from Daily Caller reporter Jorge Ventura, DC police formed a line to block people from entering the Black Lives Matter Plaza.

As a result, multiple Trump supporters were forced to walk through a Black Lives Matter group, who then shoved and punched them and tried to steal their pro-Trump flag, video footage showed.

DC Police ultimately arrested five people after the three victims showed investigators the footage of the attack, Ventura tweeted.

Meanwhile, a dazed, bloodied Trump supporter who was assaulted by a rioter clad in black clothing fell over backwards as he tried to get back onto his feet, according to a witness who recorded the aftermath of the attack.

Another video showed a woman sucker-punching a female Trump supporter from behind.

Back at the Black Lives Matter Plaza, two young Trump supporters clung to one another as they were attacked with unknown liquids and eggs.

An elderly couple was verbally accosted by a mob who tried to steal their Trump flag, another video showed.

“Where the cops at to protect you?” a masked rioter taunted another Trump supporter as he followed him down the street.

Black Lives Matter and antifa launched fireworks at Trump-supporting diners sitting in the outdoor area of P.J. Clarke’s restaurant near the White House at one point, causing the patrons to flee into the building.

Police announced on Sunday that they arrested 26-year-old Javien Michael Dawson in connection with the firework attack at the restaurant, FOX News reported.

As the crowd marched from Freedom Plaza to the U.S. Supreme Court building after nightfall, Trump supporters and members of the Proud Boys ended up colliding with a group of antifa and counter-protesters who were coming from another direction, according to The Washington Post.

It is unknown whether or not the two groups were initially aware of the one another’s position.

Police had already been struggling to quell all of the scattered uprisings that broke out as the groups moved through the area, The Washington Post reported.

When the two opposing mobs met head-on near 11th Street and H Street, a chaotic, violent brawl erupted almost instantly.

“ANTIFA SCUM ran for the hills today when they tried attacking the people at the Trump Rally, because those people aggressively fought back,” President Trump tweeted on Saturday night. “Antifa waited until tonight, when 99% were gone, to attack innocent #MAGA People. DC Police, get going — do your job and don’t hold back!!!”

An elderly man wearing a white President Trump shirt and holding a bike was attacked by a group of rioters and shoved to the ground, one video showed.

They harassed and taunted the lone victim before finally allowing him to get back onto his feet, then threw liquid on him while following him down the street chanting, “Black Lives Matter!”

A video recorded outside the Willard Hotel after nightfall showed a large group of Trump supporters singing the National Anthem in unison before breaking into chants of “USA!”

Antifa set the Freedom Plaza on fire at one point during the night, another video showed.

DC Metro Police Chief Peter Newsham said that rioters from both ends of the political spectrum had come to the city “intent on clashing,” and had put DC Metro police “directly in the middle of it,” The Washington Post reported.

“Police officers ran and placed themselves between them,” Chief Newsham said. “We did our damnedest… We were doing the best we could to keep them separated.”

Dozens of rioters were left bloodied and one participant was stabbed in the back three times, resulting in severe injuries, The Washington Post reported.

Four officers were hurt during the melee, including one officer who was hit in the eye by a chemical substance.

Chief Newsham said he believes police “prevented a much worse outcome” by placing themselves between the warring sides.

Officers arrested 20 adults and one juvenile during the mayhem on charges ranging from inciting violence and assault to disorderly conduct, The Washington Post reported.

Five of those arrested were charged with gun offenses, including two who were involved with a militia group out of Georgia, Chief Newsham said.

Police seized eight firearms during the violent uprising.

They found ammunition and three more guns in a hotel room belonging to the two purported militia members, according to The Washington Post.

U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin (R-New York) denounced the media for refusing to report the vicious attacks made on Trump supporters over the weekend.

“The President’s supporters have a right to peacefully rally supporting POTUS just like his opponents have that same right,” Zeldin tweeted. “The physical assaults today by violent leftists targeting his supporters is abhorrent. The near total media blackout of the violence is terrible…& telling.”

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Written by
Holly Matkin

Holly is a former probation and parole officer who is married to a sheriff’s deputy. She is a regular contributor to Signature Montana magazine, and has written feature articles for Distinctly Montana magazine.

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