The destruction on Saturday December 12 in the evening of Black Lives Matter ("black lives matter") signs in front of churches in Washington on the sidelines of demonstrations in favor of Donald Trump caused a stir in the United States on Sunday December 13.
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"Last night, protesters who were part of the pro-Trump rallies ripped off our Black Lives Matter sign and literally burned it down in the street,"
said Pastor Marie Mills of Asbury Church in a statement.
"It reminded me of when we burned crosses,"
a practice adopted in the past by the white supremacist movement Ku Klux Klan to intimidate African Americans, she said.
In a series of videos posted on social media, people in yellow and black outfits and bulletproof vests, typical of the far-right “Proud Boys” militia, are seen setting Black Lives Matter signs on fire.
"An attack on (these institutions) is an attack on all of us
,
"
Washington mayor Muriel Bowser blasted this Sunday.
Rally of Trump supporters
Several thousand supporters of Donald Trump gathered in the capital on Saturday to demand
“four more years”
of his presidency and denounce, without evidence,
“massive fraud”
in the November election.
The outgoing president still refuses to acknowledge his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, who is due to take office on January 20.
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Clashes broke out in several places between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators.
Four people were stabbed and hospitalized
"with serious injuries,"
Doug Buchanan, communications manager of the Washington fire department and emergency services, told AFP.