WASHINGTON -- Groups of people tore down a Black Lives Matter banner and sign from historic Black churches in downtown Washington and set one ablaze as nighttime clashes on Saturday between pro-Donald Trump supporters and counterdemonstrators erupted into violence and arrests.
Police on Sunday said they were investigating the two incidents at the Asbury United Methodist Church and Metropolitan A.M.E. Church as potential hate crimes.
One religious leader likened it to a cross burning.
District of Columbia mayor Muriel Bowser railed against the acts as “forces of hate seeking to use destruction and intimidation to tear us apart.’’
