Yesterday, two TV news outlets reported that the DC police said that three people “associated” with Black Lives Matter had stabbed three members of Proud Boys, a white nationalist group. However, an hour later, the police retracted that claim, saying that neither affiliation could be verified.
In response, the DC chapter of Black Lives Matter issued a statement Wednesday night, calling the accusation an “intentional spread of disinformation that emboldens white supremacists and undermines our movement.” In the statement, they demanded a retraction of the “lie” that Black Lives Matter was involved in the incident and called for an investigation into election night violence that they said was caused by white supremacist groups.
While the DC police have yet to comment on the statement, they told Washingtonian Thursday that they had no new information to release regarding the stabbing incident. As Washingtonian reported previously, a police source close to the investigation says that Lt. Ralph Neal, the police officer who gave the initial press briefing, was misquoted by reporters when they said the MPD believed the suspects to be “associated” with Black Lives Matter. Michael Valentine, station manager at WUSA, says that his station quoted the police accurately. WJLA still hasn’t responded to Washingtonian’s request for comment.
