Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday proudly unveiled a new “Black Lives Matter Plaza” near the White House in a clear thumb in the eye to President Trump.
On her personal twitter account, Bowser tweeted a video of the street emblazoned with the words, “BLACK LIVES MATTER” painted in giant yellow letters.
#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/OQg6977n5r
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) June 5, 2020
Bowser also tweeted a photo of what appeared to be a city worker affixing a street sign reading “Black Lives Matter” to a light pole on a section of 16th Street in the nation’s capital.
“The section of 16th street in front of the White House is now officially ‘Black Lives Matter Plaza,'” she said.
The section of 16th street in front of the White House is now officially “Black Lives Matter Plaza”. pic.twitter.com/bbJgAYE35b
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 5, 2020
To some, the dedication of the plaza to “Black Lives Matter” looks like an approving tribute to the protesters, looters and rioters who rampaged through cities nationwide in recent days to protest against police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd. According to Market Watch, the property destruction and looting will reportedly “cost insurers at least $25 million dollars — and that’s in Minnesota alone.” Hundreds of law enforcement officers have been injured since the rioting began.
Trump and Bowser have been butting heads lately over the use of federal law enforcement and military resources to deal with the unrest in the district.
“I continue to be concerned that unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, DC pose both safety and national security risks,” Bowser said in a letter Friday asking that Trump remove “federal law enforcement and military presence” from the city. She also warned that leaving that personnel in D.C. was “inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of” people who are protesting against “racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans.”
I request that @realDonaldTrump withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from our city. pic.twitter.com/AvaJfQ0mxP
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 5, 2020
Trump, on the other hand, at a press conference touting positive economic numbers Friday, encouraged states to call in the National Guard to help them “dominate the streets” as big cities are still dealing with protests following the death of Floyd, some of which have turned into violent riots.
Trump struck back against the mayor on Twitter, calling her “incompetent” and constantly asking for “handouts.”
…over the last number of nights. If she doesn’t treat these men and women well, then we’ll bring in a different group of men and women!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020
The U.S. government declared “black identity extremists” a violent threat in a 2017 report from the FBI’s counter-terrorism division. In 2019, the term was discontinued when the FBI merged several classifications under the umbrella term of “racially motivated violent extremism.
The FBI has provided assistance to local law enforcement during Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the past.