Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Police chief slams attack on protesters
D.C. police chief slams ‘attack’ on demonstrators
Turkish president Erdogan’s guards kick and beat demonstrators in D.C.
WASHINGTON — The State Department issued a strong protest to Turkey on Wednesday, a day after visiting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security guards and supporters kicked and beat protesters in a violent scuffle in downtown Washington.
The brief but bloody altercation — the second time in 14 months that a visit by Turkey’s president led to a clash with demonstrators opposed to his authoritarian policies — threatened to escalate into an international incident.
“We are communicating our concern to the Turkish government in the strongest possible terms,” the State Department said in a statement. “Violence is never an appropriate response to free speech.”
Police said two people were arrested and 11 others, including a police officer, were injured. Police said they are working with the State Department and Secret Service to identify Erdogan guards who they believe instigated the melee.
In a statement, Peter Newsham, police chief for the District of Columbia, complained of a “brutal attack on peaceful protesters.”
He said some of the Turkish security guards carried weapons under their suits, making efforts by police to intervene during the clash especially “dicey.”
He added that police were investigating if it was legal for the guards to be armed given Washington’s strict gun laws.
Video of the clash showed several men in black suits and apparently some of Erdogan’s civilian supporters charging about two dozen protesters in a park across from the Turkish ambassador’s residence.
In the video, the groups fight back and forth while police try to separate them. Some of the security guards can be seen beating male and female demonstrators and repeatedly kicking a man with a bullhorn who had been knocked to the ground.
One man was charged with aggravated assault and another with assault on a police officer. It wasn’t clear if either was attached to Erdogan’s security detail.
Two of Erdogan’s guards were detained by the Secret Service and reportedly released. The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment. The Turkish Embassy also did not respond to a request for comment.
The Atlantic Council, a non-partisan Washington think tank, was hosting an event for Erdogan at the ambassador’s residence when the fighting broke out. Erdogan had met with President Donald Trump earlier at the White House.
The anti-Erdogan demonstrators included Kurdish and Armenian groups, both of which have longstanding grievances with Turkey.
In March last year, Erdogan’s security detail also roughed up demonstrators, and some journalists, when he appeared at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.