DC Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke on May 11. Saul Loeb / AFP through Getty Images
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Sunday that protesters “have the right to carry out their First Amendment but not to destroy our city,” after the city experienced a second night of protest and some looting on Saturday.
The district “sees a fair degree of destruction and chaos among some of the annoying ones,” Bowser said in an interview on NBC.
The DC Fire Department extinguished two vehicle fires in the northern area of the White House last night, as well as several small fires in the downtown area as well as protesters damaged several buildings with graffiti.
Bowser urged President Trump to stop sending “divisive tweets intended to remind us of the past in our country’s segregation.”
Some contexts: On Saturday Trump wrongly accused Bowser in a tweet not allowing the DC Metropolitan Police Department to help the Secret Service control the situation with protesters in Lafayette Park the night before.
The claim was later denied by the US Secret Service who said in a statement that the DC police department was present.
In the same tweet, Trump said that protesters “will be welcomed by the most ferocious dogs, and the most unpleasant weapons I have ever seen,” if they break the fence outside the White House.
In a press conference yesterday, Bowser noted how Trump’s reference to “unpleasant dogs” was “no subtle reminder” of segregationists who would attack African-Americans with dogs.
Bowser said on Sunday that the city was conducting a clean-up, and was working with law enforcement “to ensure calm in our city.”
