© Jonathan Ernst/ReutersPro-Erdogan demonstrators shout slogans at Kurds in Lafayette Park, Washington, DC
The US is communicating its concern to the Turkish government "in the strongest possible terms," the State Department said in a statement about the attack. Twelve people were injured after protests outside of the Turkish ambassador's residence, DC Police Chief Peter Newsham announced in a press conference. One of those injured was a police officer, while all nine people hospitalized have been released. Two arrests have been made in connection to the attack, according to the Washington Free Beacon. According to Newsham, "there could be a diplomatic immunity issue."
Reports say scuffles broke out on two separate occasions, at first instigated by a supporter of Erdogan wearing yellow, who allegedly pushed a woman down during an argument. Shortly thereafter, a brawl broke out but was disrupted by the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
When Erdogan's presidential security detail arrived, police had the Turkish nationalists and Kurdish protesters separated. Clashes again broke out after a man wearing a suit broke through the MPD's cordon and attacked a Kurdish man. After police lost control, a multitude of pro-Erdogan protesters rushed their opponents. "Yesterday, we witnessed what appeared to be a brutal attack on peaceful protesters," Newsham said, adding that some of the pro-Erdogan group had firearms on them, compounding the difficulty faced by MPD officers.
Turkey's Anadolu state news agency reports that Erdogan's guards rushed in to disperse the protest because MPD "did not heed Turkish demands to intervene." While the MPD is powerless to arrest or detain members of Erdogan's security detail due to agreements such as diplomatic immunity, they can be charged for those crimes, allowing officers to arrest them should they return to the United States in an unofficial capacity. The president also has the power to ban them entirely.
Comment: The benefit, of having a raucous, instigating bunch of security officers that perpetually start confrontations, is in the translation back to Turkey. Protesters in the US and other countries are then deemed 'belligerent to Turkey,' therefore Erdogan justifies the chip on his shoulder and validates the persecution complex that gratifies and rewards him to no end.