Democratic Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday that people dining in the city should call the police if protesters harass them.
The mayor discussed several incidents wherein protesters harassed DC diners during a press conference Wednesday where she said the people harassing those dining in DC do not have “anything to do with demands for social justice.”
“What I saw in those videos was highly inappropriate,” Bowser said at a press conference Wednesday, according to Fox 5 DC. “It was likely against the law if they were on private property. But more importantly I don’t think it had anything to do with demands for social justice.”
The mayor added that she encourages “any diner or restaurant to call the police immediately” in such a situation, noting that many of those eating at DC restaurants are doing so to support the city during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would venture to say that the vast majority of those experiences have been 100 percent positive,” she said, regarding DC dining . “I also don’t think that D.C. residents would be bullied out of living their everyday lives.”
Her comments come after videos posted on social media Monday and Tuesday portray two separate incidents in which protesters surround people eating at restaurants and yell into their faces, chanting, “white silence is violence” and “no justice no peace.” (RELATED: ‘White Silence Is Violence’: Videos Show Crowds Of DC Protesters Harassing People At Restaurants)
Protesters says people who don’t raise there fist is a white supremact #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests #KenoshaUprising pic.twitter.com/UBGfJmb1aV
— RawsMedia™ (@rawsmedia) August 25, 2020
Protesters says people who don’t raise there fist is a white supremact #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests #KenoshaUprising pic.twitter.com/UBGfJmb1aV
— RawsMedia™ (@rawsmedia) August 25, 2020
Washington Post reporter Fredrick Kunkle identified one of the persons in the videos as urban planner Lauren B. Victor, who Kunkle said was harassed by protesters in Adams Morgan.
Kunkle tweeted that Victor said: “I felt I was under attack.”
“In the moment, it didn’t feel right,” Victor said, according to Kunkle, though she added that she understood the protesters’ anger. “I wasn’t actually frightened. I didn’t think they’d do anything to me. I’m very much with them. I’ve been marching with them for weeks and weeks and weeks.”
Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Alaina Gertz told the Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday she could not provide information on the incidents. (RELATED: DC Mayor’s Arrest Of Pro-Lifers After Allowing ‘Defund The Police’ Message Is ‘Viewpoint Discrimination,’ First Amendment Expert Says)
“If any individual feels threatened or in a dangerous situation in the District of Columbia, they should immediately call 911 so an officer can respond to the incident,” Gertz told the DCNF. MPD declined to comment further Wednesday.
Bowser has not responded to repeated requests for comment from the DCNF.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.