A race war could be brewing in the United States, according to Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Bowser, a Democrat, said she hopes police are able to maintain peace in the streets as she fears that rhetoric from leaders on tough policing, which is favored by President Trump, is stoking a conflict in which black and white people are pitted against one another.
“What I’m worried about is this country descending into a race war,” Bowser said during a press conference on 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.”
Bowser said that many of those involved in the protests outside the White House since Trump’s Republican National Convention acceptance speech on Thursday were “outside agitators,” including one van from Washington state that was previously involved in the riots in Portland. She said many people had traveled across the country “armed for battle” and suggested that they are being funded and organized by a sophisticated group.
D.C. police Chief Peter Newsham echoed Bowser’s concerns about outside groups and acknowledged that the D.C. police are working with the FBI to investigate the outside protesters to find common ties. He said that their behavior could be considered domestic terrorism.
“There’s a potential that could be the case, that it could be domestic terrorism,” Newsham said. “This isn’t just Washington, D.C. We’ve seen violence in other cities, and to the extent that that is coordinated, us in law enforcement, we have a responsibility to find out if it is.”
Guests leaving the White House after Trump’s acceptance speech, including some high-profile Republicans such as Sen. Rand Paul, were accosted by the protesters. The Kentucky Republican said he believes he and his wife would have been killed if it were not for a group of police officers who helped them make their way to their hotel.
