At least one person has been stabbed in Washington, DC during sporadic clashes between right-wing Proud Boys and left-wing Antifa, as police struggled to contain the violence and keep rival groups separated.
Thousands of President Donald Trump supporters descended on Washington on Saturday for a massive MAGA rally that featured a volley of conservative speakers addressing the agitated crowd, who believe the election had been “stolen” from them, and accuse the Republican party of “betrayal.
Despite heated chants like ‘Destroy the GOP!’, the event went mostly peacefully, as DC police managed to keep counter-protesters away, with lines of cops on bicycles and in riot gear blocking off groups from interacting.
At least one proud boy stabbed after random lone protester fights with multiple proud boys. This protester was the only one around in a mob of a few hundred pb’s and fought with one prior to this video starting and him brandishing a knife pic.twitter.com/OeK3Zwp9cv
However, as the night fell, the sides splintered into smaller groups and began roaming the streets of downtown Washington and picking fights with their rivals, pepper-spraying each other, and getting pepper-sprayed by the cops.
A Proud Boy has been allegedly stabbed and a fight broke out right after. Ambulances have arrived. pic.twitter.com/gdl9vu6Xze
One person, apparently from the Proud Boys’ side, was stabbed, with videos shared online showing a right-wing group ganging up on a lone knife-wielding black-clad man.
Another huge fight just broke out and multiple people went down, including a police officer. People are claiming that someone has been stabbed — Have not confirmed this, but an ambulance did just arrive. pic.twitter.com/P6xO1ptDov
Other footage showed police ‘retreating’ under the barrage of bottles, bricks and other projectiles from an Antifa mob who apparently tried to seize control of the so-called BLM plaza.
BREAKING: Antifa black bloc violently confront MPD by throwing water bottles and bricks at them amongst other projectiles
At least one officer was visibly wounded in the attack. Further confrontations ensued but the violence ended when riot police stepped in pic.twitter.com/W3P5gm4Lzk
Authorities have yet to release the tally of injuries and arrests, but FOX said there were at least two stabbings, as NBC news reported four stabbing victims and multiple arrests during the chaotic night.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, in Washington state, at least one person was shot and injured, allegedly by a Proud Boys member, amid smaller-scale clashes between the same right- and left-wing groups at Washington’s Capitol campus in Olympia.
