The police ultimately stepped in to separate the groups. They grabbed the signs from the SEIU members and assaulted two protesters, body-checking one of the staffers and shoving another. She also said that at first the police in the hotel didn't come to the protesters, it was only the white men in the fake-military shirts. "We rearranged our programing just to acknowledge it," she said in an interview with Raw Story.Īt no point did the SEIU conference attendees go downstairs to the America First conference, they remained in their own area that was paid for by SEIU for their own event, Mackenzie explained. She also said that as a union that represents working people often ignored by Trump's policies they felt they need to make sure they did something. "As a person of color, it was distressful that they were there." She said that as a person of color she felt very uncomfortable given the white supremacist militias that have associated themselves with the Republican movement. Once the SEIU group arrived last night for their event, they began to see the "America First" signs and realized that Trump was going to speak there. She noted that they weren't wearing masks, despite Washington being in an area of the country that has seen a significant resurgence of COVID-19. Mackenzie explained that there was a big sign that said it was for SEIU only.
![trump press conference trump press conference](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/trump-press-conference-acosta.jpg)
According to Mackenzie, the America First attendees had to walk through their area to get to the small America First meeting.Īs the America First group came through the SEIU conference area, they went through the breakfast buffet laid out and purchased by the labor union staff. The SEIU staff was holding their conference on what appeared to be the second floor, while the America First conference was on the first floor. She explained that she was there for a conference for the SEIU's strategic initiatives department that was booked about two months ago at the Marriott Marquis on Massachusettes Avenue in Washington, D.C. Mackenzie described the men as "hired goons" of Trump's, but witnesses say the hotel confirmed that the "security" were actually hired by the America First nonprofit group to run "security" for their event. The videos sent by Mackenzie showed a third man in the Army green shirt with a quasi-military-looking insignia on the left breast of his shirt and an American flag on the left arm. READ: DOJ directly probing Trump's actions in plot to overturn 2020 election in criminal investigation: reportĪt least two white men in green shirts, beards and man-buns grabbed the "Indict Trump" banner and stormed off while hotel security also ran toward the scene. The protesters were shouting "No Trump! No KKK! No fascist-USA!" and unfurled a banner reading "Indict Trump" on it. who works at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), but is not speaking on their behalf, showed a group of protesters being attacked by a group of men. OpenSecrets described the group as "the dark money arm of America First Action."įootage obtained by Raw Story from 26-year-old Mackenzie N. at his own pro-Trump nonprofit group that purports to be promoting policies.įormer Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows is among the senior partners for the group, which received $1 million from Trump's political action committee after Meadows stopped cooperating with the Jan. Pat Toomey (R-PA) agreed it wasn’t a “terribly good idea.Protesters showed up with paper and banners at former President Donald Trump's big speech in Washington, D.C. I just don't think it's a good idea,” while Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) said Tuesday, “Early assumptions are that it's going to be an aggressive statement. Trump’s planned press conference was denounced by several Republicans in Congress. Trump continued to advance his false assertions about the 2020 election in the Tuesday statement : “Also, why is the primary reason for the people coming to Washington D.C., which is the fraud of the 2020 Presidential Election, not the primary topic of the Unselect Committee’s investigation? This was, indeed, the Crime of the Century.” Chief Critic Trump has also referred to the rioters as “great people” and voiced his support for Ashli Babbitt, a rioter who was fatally shot by police while inside the Capitol.
![trump press conference trump press conference](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/105332681-Preview3.jpg)
Liz Cheney (Wy.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.). A request from the committee to view Trump Administration documents awaits a Supreme Court ruling after Trump sued to block their release, and Trump has often derided the group as the “Unselect Committee” and questioned the intentions of the two Republicans on the panel, Reps.
![trump press conference trump press conference](https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5fb702ab2104c1cd52169e5d/16:9/w_1280,c_limit/rudygiuliani.jpg)
Trump has consistently downplayed the Capitol riot and criticized the House committee’s investigation into the attack over the last year, claiming the root cause of the insurrection was to protest a “rigged” election.