Turk’s supporters, security team attack D.C. protesters

WASHINGTON — Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, including his government security forces, violently charged at protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence on Tuesday night in what the Metropolitan Police chief characterized as “a brutal attack.”

Eleven people were injured, including a police officer, and nine were taken to a hospital, Peter Newsham, the police chief, said at a news conference Wednesday.

Police said two people were arrested. Ayten Necmi, 49, of Woodside, N.Y., was charged with aggravated assault, and Jalal Kheirabaoi, 42, of Fairfax, Va., was charged with assault on a police officer. Protest organizers said those arrested were part of their group.

The U.S. State Department condemned the attack as an assault on free speech and warned Turkey that the action would not be tolerated.

“We are communicating our concern to the Turkish government in the strongest possible terms,” Heather Nauert, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed a chaotic scene of people kicking and punching as the police tried to intervene. At one point, a man threw a bullhorn, two men could be seen bleeding from the head, and another man was on the ground being kicked.