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A video showing what appears to be supporters or bodyguards of Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan in a violent clash with protesters in Washington D.C. has surfaced online.
The chaotic assault Tuesday injured nine people that were protesting outside of a home of the Turkish ambassador in D.C.
Transported 9 patients from Mass Casualty Incident at Sheridan Circle, NW – 1 priority one – 1 priority two – & 7 priority 3 patients.
Over 20 demonstrators showed up outside of the embassy in collaboration with Erdogan’s visit to D.C. to meet with U.S President Donald Trump.
Police responded to the scene and formed a line blocking the two sides from clashing. But a number of men in suits broke through it and started punching, kicking and throwing the demonstrators to the ground. Police tried to contain the situation, but it got out of control quickly.
Watch a video of the incident below, but be warned: some parts of it are graphic.
Those outside of the embassy were Kurdish, Armenian and Tezidi human rights protesters.
“We are protesting (Erdogan’s) policies in Turkey, in Syria and in Iraq,” one demonstrator, Flint Arthur of Baltimore, told CNN. “They think they can engage in the same sort of suppression of protest and free speech that they engage in in Turkey. They stopped us for a few minutes … but we still stayed and continued to protest Erdogan’s tyrannical regime.”
The nine victims were transported to George Washington University Hospital and are being treated for their injuries.
The D.C. Police Department released a statement May 17 that said two arrests were made after the incident and there is “every intention to pursue charges against the other individuals involved.” The department vowed to work with the appropriate agencies to identify all other suspects involved.
The incident took place just hours after Trump and Erdogan met at the White House. The Turkish president is an authoritarian-style leader who previously had a “strained relationship” with President Barack Obama‘s administration.
But Trump said he’s looking to built that back up. He said during a joint statement with Erdogan in the Oval Office that the U.S. and Turkey have “had a great relationship and we will make it even better.”
Erdogan notably wasn’t a fan of Trump’s decision arm Kurdish fighters that are helping fight ISIS. The Turkish government has said that they see the militias as part of PKK, which is considered a terrorist group.
However, he called Trump a “dear friend” in his statement to the media.