Robbinsdale man among those stabbed during Proud Boys rally in D.C.
A man from the Twin Cities was among the four people who were stabbed during a Proud Boys demonstration in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. He has since been arrested and charged in connection to the incident.
Thousands of people gathered in downtown D.C. on Saturday, Dec. 12, in support of President Donald Trump, WTOP reports. Among them were an estimated 700 Proud Boys, a far-right, anti-immigrant, male-only misogynist group that supports Trump's attempts to overturn the election, and who marched in big and small groups in the nation's capital. That's according to the Washington Post, which noted there were also about 200 anti-Trump protesters.
At one point, around 9 p.m., a man got into an argument with four others that turned physical, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. The suspect, identified as a 29-year-old Phillip Johnson from D.C., pulled out a knife and stabbed four people, including 39-year-old Corey Owen Nielsen of Robbinsdale, Minnesota.
The victims were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Johnson has since been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and Nielsen is charged with simple assault, police said. Meanwhile, police are hoping to identify additional suspects involved in the incident.
Police have not said what groups the suspect and victims were involved with, but Nielsen is reportedly a member of the Proud Boys. The Washington Post says the incident happened near Harry's Bar, which is a Proud Boys hangout.
The New York Post, which has video of the incident, said a lone Black counter-protester was outside the bar when he was surrounded by a group of white men wearing apparel associated with the Proud Boys. At one point, the Black man was shoved from behind. He then appears to pull out a knife, and when he tries to walk away, some follow him and tackle him.
A police report, posted by Heavy, says: "Further investigation revealed a video from the NY Post showing S-3 push S-1 in the back, at which point S-1 produces a knife, and S-4 then pull on S-1's mask repeatedly, at which point V-2/S-2 punches S-1 repeatedly in the head."
Thirty-three people were arrested in connection to the unrest in D.C. on Saturday, police data show.
