The mayor of Washington, DC, said she fears a “race war” is brewing — blaming “outside agitators” who come “armed for battle.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser said there was a “stark contrast” when outside militants disrupted peaceful protests, with police revealing that more than 70 percent of those arrested in recent days were from outside the district.
They are investigating whether it was “domestic terrorism” and an “organized, funded attempt to create violence,” DC Police Chief Peter Newsham revealed — while the mayor admitted she feared a more alarming endgame.
“What I’m worried about is this country descending into a race war,” Bowser said at a news conference Monday.
“And I’m worried about the continued incitement of violence from leadership who should be focused on bringing our communities together.
“Our police and peaceful protesters will be safer when we come together as a community and tamp down this black-versus-white rhetoric,” she said.
While refusing to speculate what groups they belonged to, Bowser said they came “armed for battle” with “fireworks, baseball bats, laser pointers,” starting fires while “looking for the police to confront.”
“What we’re certainly not going to do is stand by and allow outside agitators to come to our city to distract us from the work of DC residents,” she said. “We know they came together to create havoc.”
Bowser also criticized prosecutors for being too soft on rioters who were arrested, freeing them to return for more carnage.
