HISTORIC BLACK CHURCHES VANDALISED DURING WEEKEND PRO-TRUMP RALLIES IN US

Mon 14 December 2020:

Groups of people tore down a Black Lives Matter banner and sign from historic Black churches in downtown Washington, D.C., and set one ablaze as Saturday night clashes between pro-Donald Trump supporters and counter-demonstrators erupted into violence and arrests.

Police on Sunday said they were investigating the incidents at the Asbury United Methodist Church and Metropolitan A.M.E. Church as potential hate crimes, which one religious leader likened to a cross burning.

“This weekend, we saw forces of hate seeking to use destruction and intimidation to tear us apart,” District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday. “We will not let that happen.”

A video posted on Twitter showed a group of men appearing to take down a BLM banner at the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church as others in the crowd shout, “Whose streets? Our streets.”

Another video showed people pouring an accelerant on a BLM banner and setting it ablaze in the street as others cheered and cursed Antifa, a left-wing, anti-fascist movement in the U.S. Someone walked up about a minute later and used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

Pro-Trump Proud Boys are ripping BLM flags *off of churches* in DC. pic.twitter.com/geWpDpzIKR

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) December 13, 2020

Leaders of the Black Lives Matter organisation decried the attacks on the churches, partly faulting police for allowing white supremacists to “run rampant.”

LIVE NOW: BLM DC hosts a presser on BLM Plaza, denounces the failure of both the mayor and her police department — to stop the racist attacks by the Proud Boys against Black people, Black churches & others who stand against racism. https://t.co/vK3CM0Nh8g #DefendDC

— Black Lives Matter DC (@DMVBlackLives) December 13, 2020

“It pained me especially to see our name, Asbury, in flames,” Rev. Dr. Ianther M. Mills, the senior pastor at Asbury church, said in a statement on Sunday. “For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings.”

The pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in DC responds to the burning of the church’s Black Lives Matter sign last night by people who appeared to be affiliated with Proud Boys.

“For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings.” pic.twitter.com/eX3aAE7qTJ

— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) December 13, 2020

Mills said seeing the video made “determined to fight the evil that has reared its ugly head.” “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 added

The pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in DC responds to the burning of the church’s Black Lives Matter sign last night by people who appeared to be affiliated with Proud Boys.

“For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings.” pic.twitter.com/eX3aAE7qTJ

— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) December 13, 2020

The incidents came following rallies in support of Trump’s baseless claims that he won a second term as U.S. president, which also led to dozens of arrests, several stabbings and injuries to police officers.