AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez
- Far-right group Proud Boys were captured on video destroying and lighting Black Lives Matter signs on fire at a pro-Trump rally in Washington, DC on Saturday.
- A pastor of one of the historic churches likened the act to a hate symbol, The Washington Post reported.
- “It pained me especially to see our name, Asbury, in flames. For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings,” Reverand Dr. Ianther Mills of Asbury Methodist church wrote in a statement on Sunday.
- DC police are investigating the vandalism as “potential hate crimes,” according to NBC4 Washington.
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Pastors of two historic black churches in Washington, DC are speaking out after their sites faced vandalism during a pro-Trump rally.
Video captured the far-right group Proud Boys, which has been identified by Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, tearing up and burning Black Lives Matter signs from two different historically Black churches – Asbury United Methodist Church and Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, according to The Washington Post.
Reverand Ianther Mills of Asbury United Methodist Church, established in 1836, likened the vandalism of their Black Lives Matter sign to “cross burnings,” a hate symbol most widely associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
“It pained me especially to see our name, Asbury, in flames. For me it was reminiscent of cross burnings,” Reverand Mills wrote in a public statement on Sunday. “Seeing this act on video made me both indignant and determined to fight the evil that has reared its ugly head. We had been so confident that no one would ever vandalize the church, but it has happened.”
Pastor William H. Lamar IV of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church described that the vandalism as “an assault” on the historic landmark, NPR reported. The church is coined as one of the oldest Black churches in the nation’s capital.
"What they are doing in the contemporary moment is also an assault on our historical resolve, and our assertion that we belong here, that this space is our space and that we will not leave," Lamar told NPR. "We will not be intimidated by persons who don't celebrate our humanity and our contribution."
—Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) December 13, 2020
Thousands of people had gathered to march on Saturday in support of President Donald Trump, calling for an overturn of the results of the 2020 election. The Proud Boys chanted "f--k antifa" and clashed with counter-protesters which resulted in multiple arrests and injuries.
Two other churches, Luther Place Memorial Church and Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church, were impacted by Saturday's events with their property also destroyed, D.C Police Chief Peter Newsham said at a press conference, according to NBC4 Washington.
"DC's faith-based organizations are at the very heart of our community, giving us hope in the face of darkness," DC Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted on Sunday. "They embody our DC values of love and inclusivity. An attack on them is an attack on all of us.
The acts of vandalism are being investigated as "potential hate crimes," according to NBC4.