August 2020

On the 22nd of August, a man reported to have worn a Trump hat (but not wearing it as he spit) spit on a Black woman after initiating a conflict with protesters holding a "mic-check" at the restaurant he was eating at. It the COVID pandemic, this is assault with a deadly weapon.

Video of the spitting incident and police response 1 min 5 sec

On the 16th of August, a "Reclaim DC" protest was scheduled for BLM Plaza/H st. On that day, protesters added paintwork to the murel of signs at the US Chamber of Commerce, painted H st-and hung a mock Klansman in effigy. Cops set up a police line blocking most of H st and glowered at protesters.

Video-paint and mock hanging of Klansman, police line closes much of H st 49 sec

On Saturday, the 15th of August, the usual pair of BLM marchews from Malcolm X Park and Dupont circle took to the streets in spite of rain and the kettle just two days earlier. Very large numbers of cops shadowed the marches and tension grew between these pigs and the They/Them march out of Dupont. Of course, all those cops were effectively taken off the street for the rest of the city.

On the 13th of August, the Metropolitan Police Department once again kettled protesters in the IMF/Pershing Park/J20 manner. In addition to the usual pepper spraying, cops surrounded protesters on 18th st, and arrested protesters, journalists, and bystanders alike. There are reports of felony rioting charges (even against journalists, same as J20)-and that one protesters had a stroke and was removed by ambulance.

Kate Cantrell's video of one of the rough arrests 44 sec

On the 11th of August, just one day after the Secret Service shot a Black man at 17th and Penn near the White House, Muriel Bowser had contractors pave over just the part of Black Lives Matter Plaza showing BLM's "Defund the Police" addition to her Black Lives Matter street mural.