By Aiyeku Timothy
The authorities in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, confirmed that four persons were stabbed on Saturday night as supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump clashed blocks from the White House.
This is happened two days before the electoral college will confirm that Joe Biden is the next US president.
The Metropolitan Police Department in a statement said the four were stabbed outside a bar at 11th and F Streets Northwest around 9 p.m. on Saturday while also confirming that a man in connection with the stabbing had been arrested.
A police spokeswoman said a Washington resident, Phillip Johnson, 29, was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, using a knife to stab the victims.
Those stabbed are identified as Franklin Todd Gregory of McMinnville, Tenn.; Corey Owen Nielsen of Robbinsdale, Minn.; Jeremy Bertino of Locust, N.C.; and Gregory Lyons.
The Police arrested 33 people on different charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and weapons violations.
The confrontation started after dozens of supporters of Mr. Trump, many of whom are believed to be members of the Proud Boys, gathered on the street outside Harry’s Bar. Some of the Trump supporters shouted and pointed at a Black man in dark clothes who was alone and against a wall, a journalist who witnessed the confrontation as he was covering the protests for The New York Times.
In videos of a clash in Olympia, Washington DC, a gunshot was heard as counterprotesters advanced on members of a pro-Trump group on Saturday. After the gunshot, one of the counter protesters was seen falling to the ground as others call for help.
However, minutes before the stabbings, supporters of Trump tore down Black Lives Matter banners and burned them on the street. One of the flags was reportedly removed from outside the Asbury United Methodist Church, one of the oldest Black churches in Washington, which has stood at the corner of 11th and K Streets Northwest since 1836.
Another Black Lives Matter slogan banner was brought down from the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church near the corner of 15th and M Streets Northwest.
The Police Department spokeswoman said that eight officers were injured during the protests on Sunday. Two of those officers sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries and were also taken to hospitals, said Mr. Buchanan, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman.
President Trump’s rhetoric of refusing to accept the results of the election and telling the Right boys group to “stand back and stand by” has been blamed for this violence which has been described by the police as a riot.
