A woman was pushed to the ground by police at a heavily-guarded Black Lives Matter protest near the White House last night. Footage s...
A woman was pushed to the ground by police at a heavily-guarded Black Lives Matter protest near the White House last night.
Footage showed the white woman being blocked by a wall of cops as she moved towards a roadblock by St John's Episcopal Church.
One of the masked officers appeared to use both hands to push her away, sending the woman sprawling to the ground.
A woman was pushed to the ground by police at a heavily-guarded Black Lives Matter protest near the White House last night
It was not clear what led to the confrontation, or where the woman was trying to go when she walked towards the line of police.
The clash took place by St John's Church with the White House in the background and the Washington Monument visible behind that.
After the woman was knocked over, several police officers slowly retreated while another man helped her back to her feet.
She did not appear badly hurt but it was not clear whether she continued protesting.
Lafayette Square and the surrounding area have been the scene of ongoing protests since the death of George Floyd on May 25 triggered worldwide anger over racism and police brutality.
The unarmed Floyd died in Minneapolis after a white officer knelt on his knee for nearly nine minutes while arresting him.
The protests in Washington led officials to install a fence around Lafayette Square to keep demonstrators away from the White House.
75-year-old protester Martin Gugino was previously pushed to the ground by police in Buffalo (pictured). Donald Trump later promoted the conspiracy theory that it was a set-up
On June 1, protesters were cleared with tear gas shortly before Donald Trump theatrically walked across the square on a visit to St John's Church.
Trump was widely criticized for the stunt, and one of his entourage - army general Mark Milley - has since apologized for taking part.
Trump also embroiled himself in controversy about another incident where police pushed a protester to the ground, this time in Buffalo.
The 75-year-old protester, Martin Gugino, was hospitalized after being shoved by Buffalo cops who were subsequently suspended and charged.
Trump touted an unfounded conspiracy theory on Twitter that Gugino was a 'provocateur' and that his fall was a set-up orchestrated by Antifa.
Last week Gugino's lawyer said the 75-year-old had received death threats and would continue recovering in an 'undisclosed location' when he left hospital.
Trump has vowed to declare Antifa a terrorist organization, although how this would work is less clear because the movement is largely disorganized.
No comments