Protesters at a D.C. military parade expressed support for violent tactics used in anti-Trump demonstrations, including throwing rocks, while asserting their constitutional rights. Some attendees defended the actions as necessary under the current political climate. During the parade, a young protester stated his support for the use of rocks in recent protests, emphasizing that the actions were justified if they did not harm anyone. Another protester said he was fully supportive of people who throw rocks during demonstrations, as long as they don’t hurt anyone in the process. These statements were made as anti-Trump protests have seen a few isolated incidents of violence, with the weekend preceded by violent riots in Los Angeles that spread to other cities like New York and Chicago.
The anti-Trump protests that coincided with the military parade in D.C. on Saturday saw a few isolated incidents of violence but appeared mostly peaceful. However, the weekend was preceded by violent riots in Los Angeles that spread to other cities like New York and Chicago – reminiscent of the anti-police protests following the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd in the summer of 2020.
Protesters in Los Angeles threw rocks at law enforcement and several fires across the city erupted amid the chaos. There were reports of damage to federal buildings, including both immigration and non-immigration-related offices, that included graffiti threatening the lives of federal officials. At least one community care office for veterans, run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, was forced to shut down and cancel hundreds of appointments amid the violence. Many were arrested for clashing with police and the reverberations of the rioting have resulted in other tense clashes between police and activists across the country.
While no deaths have been directly attributed to political violence at recent protests across the country, including Los Angeles, fatalities have occurred at some protests around the country. In Utah, an innocent bystander was shot by a man who had been a part of the protest’s peacekeeping team, according to reports, while in Los Angeles a man was found dead outside a looted T-Mobile store amid the anti-ICE chaos, according to reports.
The peaceful protesters in D.C. suggested they were not in favor of any violence, but they did signal that they understood why protests in recent days across the country have been so intense that they lead to violence against police officers, property and sometimes more.