Police are searching for a mob believed to be members of Black Lives Matter who stabbed three Proud Boys last night in Washington DC after members of the extremist group celebrated Donald Trump’s claims of ‘victory’ by making white power symbols in bars in the city.
DC Police Lt. Ralph Neal said the three Proud Boys were stabbed and injured in the early hours of Wednesday in Northwest by three suspects believed to be members of BLM, according to WUSA9.
Metropolitan Police Department told DailyMail.com Wednesday two adult males and one adult female sustained non-life threatening injuries but said they could not verify any specific affiliation of the suspects.
Two of the Proud Boy members injured in the knife attack have been named as the group’s chairman Enrique Tarrio and prominent member Bevelyn Beatty – the black woman who notoriously defaced and painted over the BLM mural outside Trump Tower in New York City in response to nationwide demonstrations calling for racial justice.
The stabbing took place around 2:26 a.m. on the 1400 block of New York Avenue, close to the White House where the presidential race continued to rumble on into Wednesday with Trump declaring victory at 2.30am Wednesday morning and calling the election a ‘fraud on the American people’ while Joe Biden said he was ‘confident’ he will win and insisted ‘it ain’t over till every vote is counted’.
The incident in DC was an anomaly in what marked a fairly calm election night across the nation, as a handful of arrests were made across some cities but fears of widespread violence failed to materialize across much of the nation.
Some of the biggest clashes of the night were seen in DC where BLM protesters faced off with Trump supporters outside the White House, resulting in at least three arrests.
Protesters in North Carolina – a key battleground state – took to the streets of Raleigh chanting ‘whoever wins, we lose’ and burning American flags before cops swooped in and arrested six for hurling fireworks and projectiles at police.
Over in California, around 40 people were arrested in downtown Los Angeles after demonstrators blocked train tracks in the city and failed to disperse when the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly.
Meanwhile, Seattle police said at least eight were arrested during protests including some people who allegedly left nails in a roadway and, in Minneapolis, 13 women and one man were arrested on riot charges.
A Proud Boy was seen flashing an OK sign which has been adopted by white nationalists as a white power sign at Harry’s Pub in Washington DC Tuesday evening
The Proud Boys is a far-right males-only extremist group that has neo-fascist, violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, and misogynistic views
Two of the Proud Boy members injured in the knife attack have been named as the group’s chairman Enrique Tarrio and prominent member Bevelyn Beatty. National chairman of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio has ties with the GOP and was previously pictured with Donald Trump Jr (above)
Washington DC
Footage surfaced on social media of the Proud Boys stabbing incident, showing a group of people fighting before one man is seen clutching his bleeding neck while Beatty is heard saying ‘they stabbed me’.
The video shows a scuffle between at least seven people before the suspected attackers fled the scene.
Beatty was seen clutching her lower back, saying: ‘They stabbed me.’
Beatty, an anti-abortion activist from Staten Island, was arrested back in July for throwing paint on the BLM mural in New York City. She was released and then filmed herself carrying out the stunt again just hours later.
The person filming, identified as Jen Loh, former vice president of Latinos For Trump, is heard saying: ‘She’s bleeding really badly!’
‘We just got jumped by Black Lives Matter and they just stabbed Bevelyn Beatty,’ she says.
The video then shows the unidentified man holding his neck as blood pours down his hand.
‘Oh my God, you’ve got tons of blood coming out of your neck’ says Loh. ‘Yes I do,’ the man replies.
DC police confirmed they are looking for three suspects involved in the stabbing incident.
Two of the suspects were described as black males wearing all black clothing. The third was a black female wearing black sweatpants with a white stripe, orange leggings and a dark gray coat.
The victims were transported to a hospital, where they were being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The events leading up to the stabbing are unclear.
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who is serving as the Florida state director of the Latinos for Trump group and has been pictured with Trump’s ally Roger Stone and son Don Jr., told the Gateway Pundit that he was slashed in the stomach while fellow member Bevelyn Beatty was stabbed in the back.
Tarrio claimed that his group was attacked after they stepped in to help another older man who was being assaulted.
‘We were helping some guy that was getting stabbed by two black males and one female,’ Tarrio said.
‘Bevelyn got stabbed as well as two Proud Boys and the guy they were attacking. I got slashed, but it’s not serious. We were walking to our cars.’
The altercation took place about four blocks from where a group of men who appeared to be part of the Proud Boys were seen drinking at Harry’s Pub on 11th Street, just a seven minutes walk from the White House.
Photos snapped by DailyMail.com showed the group proudly wearing MAGA hats and flashing white power signs – widely used by neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen and other white nationalists – as protests erupted outside.
Several were seen wearing shirts affiliating themselves with The Proud Boys, the far-right males-only extremist group that has neo-fascist, violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, and misogynistic views, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
One man was seen wearing a shirt that said ‘Stand Back, Stand By,’ a quote from Trump during the presidential debate with Joe Biden on September 30 when the president refused to denounce white supremacy.
Meanwhile, outside the White House clashes broke out Tuesday night between Trump supporters and BLM protesters as police tried to keep massive crowds that showed up under control.
WASHINGTON DC: Protesters dressed in black, carrying umbrellas and holding signs marched through the streets of Washington in the early hours of Wednesday morning after three arrests were made in the Capitol on election night
D.C.: Two men were arrested Tuesday evening on 16th Street in front of The Capital Hilton. A uniformed police officer told the DailyMail.com, that the two men were arrested as a result of an assault against an unknown person
D.C.: Police officers arrest a protester as a truck with musicians plays live Gogo music at protests near the White House
WASHINGTON DC: Police officers arrest a protester. There have been at least two arrests in the Capitol linked to the protests
WASHINGTON, DC: Metropolitan police on bikes were dispatched after a major scuffle erupted between protesters
Video footage from Black Lives Matter Plaza shows tensions overflowing into physical altercations as thousands gathered to demonstrate despite a heavy presence from Metropolitan police.
According to reports, Black Lives Matter demonstrators were angered when a counter-protester allegedly began to shout ‘All lives matter, white lives matter’.
One video shows the man speaking with a protester before he is shoved into one of the barricades and surrounded.
He is punched and pushed to the ground before he manages to break away and walk off.
Another video shows a man in a ‘Make America Great Again’ shirt squaring off with a protester and trying to taunt him into a fight.
Shouting also erupted in a tense stand-off between protesters and cops, forcing officers to pull back from Black Lives Matter Plaza to restore calm.
Protesters have threatened to remain around the White House for weeks if Trump is reelected.
LOS ANGELES: A line of police stand in an intersection near the Staples Center after an unlawful assembly was declared
LOS ANGELES: Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills was deserted on Tuesday night, despite predictions of unrest
NYC: Police vans line the street in a quiet Times Square on election night
NYC: A protester uses an American flag to batter a Trump piñata on Tuesday night in Times Square
Los Angeles
In LA, police said 40 people were arrested in the downtown area Tuesday evening after two unlawful assemblies were declared ‘due to a large and unruly crowd’ and cops broke up crowds near the Staples Center.
Suspects allegedly blocked train tracks and refused to follow police orders to disperse, police said.
‘Obviously we have a lot of police presence out here due to the election, we’re prepared for anything that might come about and we’re able to respond right away,’ said Los Angeles Police Officer Mike Lopez.
Another 30 were cited for blocking an intersection before being released.
Protesters were seen in a stand off with armed officers wearing riot gear before officers declared the first of two unlawful assemblies around 8:15 p.m.
Police told people to disperse ‘due to a large and unruly crowd.’
A second unlawful assembly was declared soon after 9:30 p.m. near South Figueroa and West 18th streets, with cops ordering people to ‘leave immediately.’
This came after the LAPD called a ‘citywide tactical alert’ earlier Tuesday hours before polls shuttered nationwide.
SEATTLE: Protesters march through the streets on election night in Seattle as multiple arrests were made
MINNEAPOLIS: Protesters march through Uptown lighting off fireworks as election numbers from across the US come in
MINNEAPOLIS: Police take a woman into custody at Bryant Square Park in Minnesota on Tuesday night
Seattle
Meanwhile, in Seattle, at least eight were arrested on charges including pedestrian interference, obstruction, assault on an officer, reckless driving and criminal mischief, as people took to the streets of the city and unrest spilled over into the night.
In one incident, a driver drove over a barricade and into a police bike lane. Police said no injuries were reported following the incident.
Another person was arrested for damaging a parking meter with a hammer while others allegedly put nails in the roads.
‘Officers have provided multiple additional public safety warnings to the group,’ police tweeted.
‘Individuals have continued to put items in roadway, including nails.’
Seattle police said two groups took to the streets of the city in the evening before they joined together around 9p.m.
Authorities warned residents to be cautious in the city’s downtown area as demonstrators blocked roads with barricades.
A dispersal order was then issued around 10 p.m. in the Capitol Hill neighborhood – where back in the summer demonstrators set up the controversial CHOP zone and occupied the area for around a month.
Earlier in the day, the Office of Police Accountability in Seattle reminded police that protesters have the right to demonstrate peacefully under their First Amendment rights while Mayor Jenny Durkan confirmed the city was ‘planning for the days that follow’.
LOS ANGELES: A man yells at a police officer during a protest in LA, California on election day
LOS ANGELES: In LA, police said 40 people were arrested in the downtown area Tuesday evening
BEVERLY HILLS: Trump supporters exchange words with passengers in their car during a protest
BEVERLY HILLS: Trump supporters are seen in MAGA hats while a Trump banner lies on the ground as they face off with a car in the California city
LOS ANGELES: LAPD officers stand guard outside a Staples superstore in LA as authorities declare an unlawful assembly
Minneapolis
In Minneapolis – where protests erupted back in June following the ‘murder’ of black man George Floyd by a white cop – thirteen women and one man were arrested during election night unrest.
Minneapolis Police said officers were called to the Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue area of south Minneapolis Tuesday night around 9:20 p.m. to reports of people letting off fireworks, blocking traffic, vandalizing businesses and setting fires.
Demonstrators then moved to Bryant Square Park near Bryant Avenue and West 31st Street later in the night wgere they aimed fireworks at cops, reported CBS Local.
Police arrested the 14 people soon after 11 p.m. and were being held in Hennepin County Jail on riot charges.
One of the suspects may also face an assault charge, police said.
The scene was cleared around 30 minutes later – a far cry from unrest back in June.
Though some arrests were made, election night came and went with far less violence than had been anticipated in cities across the US that had braced for bitter conflict between protesters and police.
The National Guard had been activated in 16 states ahead of the election on Tuesday as businesses boarded up and entire police forces took to the streets to confront lawless crowds.
By around 3am on the East Coast – as it became clear that the election likely won’t be decided for days or weeks – most crowds appeared to bowed to police pressure and made their way home.
LOS ANGELES: Demonstrators are detained in the city election night while an armed police officer stands guard
WASHINGTON DC: District of Columbia Metropolitan Police arrest a protester who was part of a group blocking police efforts to move an illegally parked truck out of the street at Black Lives Matter Plaza
WASHINGTON DC: Police arrest a protester as people try to stop authorities moving the vehicle
WASHINGTON DC: A scuffle appears to break out as several cops grab the man while demonstrators try to also pull him away
WASHINGTON DC: Calmer scenes play out as voters wait for the polls to close and election results start to pour in
North Carolina
In North Carolina – which has become a key battleground state and is yet to be called as of Wednesday morning – around 200 demonstrators took to the streets of downtown Raleigh and chanted ‘whoever wins, we lose’ in protest over the White House race.
Several protesters were seen burning American flags while others hurled projectiles at cops and let off fireworks into the street.
Police declared the protest an ‘unlawful assembly’ and arrested six protesters on various charges including assault, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct.
Barriers had been placed around the State Capitol building earlier in the day as the city braced for unrest with North Carolina being largely divided between blue and red voters.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin has not ruled out enforcing a curfew across the city in the aftermath of the election.