Left-wing counterprotesters moved in during a pro-Trump “Million MAGA March” in Washington, leading to scattered confrontations and escalating violence Saturday night as police tried to keep opposing groups separated.
Earlier in the day, they turned out in opposition to pro-Trump groups rallying to protest the results of the election, which show Democrat Joe Biden winning. The president himself even visited the demonstration with his motorcade.
The march was largely peaceful. But as the sun went down, snippets of scenes shared on Twitter showed chaos had overtaken areas of the nation’s capital.
Authorities said one male demonstrator was stabbed near the intersection of New York Avenue and 11th Street, and sustained injuries that were not considered life threatening. It was not immediately clear which side he was on.
Daily Caller contributor Matthew Miller shared what he described as an "all out brawl between Proud Boys and Antifa in the streets."
The Proud Boys is a conservative group known for occasional brawls in other cities, including at least once in New York City and at several demonstrations with Antifa members on the West Coast. One of the group's leaders was stabbed during another protest in Washington during post-Election Day demonstrations.
People wearing the group's colors, black and yellow, cropped up in numerous photographs and videos from the demonstrations.
Anti-Trump demonstrators allegedly hurled eggs at Trump supporters -- or stole signs, hats and banners, and lit them on fire. Videos show them shouting at families, sucker-punching people in the street and harassing an elderly woman carrying a Trump flag.
City police said they’d made at least 10 arrests – three of which involved assaults – but a total count wasn’t expected until Sunday morning. They closed off streets and part of Washington's downtown, already home to boarded up stores and offices.
In some places, police physically stood between groups of Trump supporters and counterprotesters, chanting or carrying signs and banners emblazoned with Antifa and Black Lives Matter slogans, to keep them separated.