17 Arrested At DC Protests, Curfew In Place Sunday, Church Fire

WASHINGTON, DC — Peaceful demonstrations in the District of Columbia over the weekend took a turn toward chaos, resulting in multiple arrests, property damage and injuries, prompting a citywide curfew Sunday night into Monday morning.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew from 11 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday. She called in the D.C. National Guard to support police in quelling any violent protests.

St. John's Church on Lafayette Square had a fire in the basement of the parish house Sunday night, according to the D.C. Fire Department. Around 11 p.m. the department said firefighters were extinguishing the blaze and checking to see if it had spread to the other parts of the structure at 1525 H Street, NW.

Across the street from the White House at Lafayette Square police deployed flashbangs and pepper spray around 7:30 p.m. Sunday after the windshield of a police car was broken, according to WTOP, which reported there was also a fire at the AFL-CIO headquarters on 16th Street NW and tear gas deployed along I Street.

While the Metropolitan Police Department facilitates thousands of events each year, most of which are peaceful, Police Chief Peter Newsham said Saturday's demonstration had a degree of volatility.

Agitators began throwing objects at park police officers after 4 p.m. Saturday, he said. By 4:30 p.m., most of the agitators were concentrated at 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

They vandalized three Secret Service vehicles — breaking the glass, spray-painting the cars and flattening the tires — he said. Officials said 29 Metropolitan Police Department vehicles were damaged or spray-painted.

After marching south, a small group around 7 p.m. intentionally vandalized property north of Lafayette Park in the central business district, he said, shattering windows and painting graffiti.

Rocks and bottles were hurled at law enforcement personnel protecting Lafayette Park and other parts of the city, Newsham said. O.C. spray was deployed in some cases as agitators used new tactics.

"They were throwing incendiary devices at police officers," Newsham said at a news conference Sunday, an action he said was "particularly disturbing" and unusual.

Newsham said 11 officers suffered injuries in the attacks that were not believed to be life-threatening. One officer stationed north of Lafayette Park Saturday was hit by a brick and suffered a "significant injury" that required surgery Sunday morning for a multiple compound leg fracture, the chief reported.

After 9 p.m. Saturday, he said multiple businesses were looted and fires were set, including at a building site that was under construction.

The Metropolitan Police Department made 17 arrests, Newsham said Sunday:

• Eight were D.C.residents or had some ties to the district.
• Three were from Alexandria, Va.
• Three had no fixed address.
• One was from Woodbridge, Va.
• One was from Chesterfield. Va.
• One's address was undetermined.

Of those arrested, 14 were charged with rioting, two were charged with burglary and one was charged with simple assault, Newsham said.

"I don't anticipate that will be all of the arrests we make relative to this incident," he said, noting the downtown district has sophisticated video surveillance systems, and footage is still being reviewed. Those who have footage that shows suspects destroying property or hurting people Saturday night and Sunday can call the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099.

Criminal investigators will also be scouring government cameras, he said, and the public may be asked to help identify them in the future.

"We can't have people coming into our city who are going to destroy property or hurt people," he said. "As we make additional arrests — and we will — we'll have a clearer picture of potential groups or organized groups that were involved in this."

He commended the officers for their actions.

"The behavior of our police was incredibly responsible — heroic in many instances," Newsham said. "I couldn't have been more proud of the folks that were out there."

The chief also recognized Mayor Muriel Bowser for surveying damage with him at 3 a.m. Sunday.

"It was maddening to think that anybody would destroy property, put our officers in danger and put themselves in danger," Bowser said. "While we understand and protect their right to protest," she asked people not to destroy the city.

"We certainly recognize and empathize with the outrage that people feel following the killing in Minneapolis last week. And we certainly empathize that the killing of George Floyd wasn't the first and that people were expressing outrage and demanding action," Bowser said.

"People were largely peaceful," she said, but as the evening went on, there was an "organized group" that was "bent on destruction." While Bowser did not have a name for the group, she said its members were "organized and had tools to break windows" and distribute materials for destroying parts of the city rather than protesting.

"We do not want our city to be destroyed," Bowser said. To that end, Bowser said D.C.'s public safety personnel and its federal partners have been working to ensure people can exercise their First Amendment rights while protecting the city.

On the coronavirus front, Bowser said she spoke with the city's health director Sunday about the mass gatherings that occurred.

"We saw some social distancing, some mask wearing," Bowser said. But people came from all over for the demonstrations, a situation in which D.C. was not alone.

"Cities across America" experienced the same thing, according to Bowser, who said: "As a nation, we have to be concerned about rebound" with respect to the virus.

There are some planned demonstrations police are aware of coming up, Newsham said Sunday.

"We will be out there again to ensure that our city is safe," Newsham said. "Our expectation is that they will peacefully demonstrate" as groups in D.C. do 99 percent of the time.

He thanked the local Black Lives Matter group for what he said was a "very large but peaceful car caravan throughout our city" protesting the "tragic death of George Floyd" shortly after midday Saturday.

The chief said he would not tolerate the unlawfulness that later unfolded at the hands of agitators.

“Cooler heads will prevail," Newsham said. "We will hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

See Also:

• Mayor Bowser Calls Out Trump For Dividing Country