'White silence is violence': Viral videos show protesters confronting outdoor diners in DC
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - At least two videos have gone viral that appear to show groups of protesters confronting outdoor diners in D.C. Monday night.
In one of the videos shared on Twitter Tuesday by Washington Post reporter Frederick Kunkle, a large group of protestors crowd around a woman sitting outside of a restaurant in Adams Morgan, shouting: "No justice, no peace" and "White silence is violence!"
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Kunkle wrote that the confrontation stemmed from a Black Lives Matter protest that began in Columbia Heights, adding that protesters demanded that white diners show their solidarity by putting up a fist.
The woman in the video, who Kunkle says he later interviewed, told him that she "felt like I was under attack" for reportedly refusing to raise her fist in solidarity. Kunkle added that the woman told him she felt "there was something wrong about being coerced to show support."
She went on to tell Kunkle that she supports the protesters and had been marching with them for weeks.
Meanwhile, a similar scene played out in front of Mezcalero Cocina Mexicana on 14th Street NW. Another video shared on Twitter appears to show a group of protestors confronting a couple seated outside the restaurant who do not appear to raise their fists.
On Tuesday, FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal went back to Columbia Heights and showed people the videos reporting that most told him they thought the protesters were out of line.
“I don’t think it’s cool at all. If you’re protesting you can’t make people do things. That’s ridiculous," said Theo Green.
WEIGH IN: Do you feel safe eating outdoors at DC restaurants with protesters accosting diners?
Others, however, said they agreed with the protesters.
“They standing for something, you know? And they voicing their opinion. So I think that’s the right thing to do," said George Johnson.
Attempts to reach the people we could identify in the videos weren’t immediately successful.
Rosenthal reports that after multiple phone calls with several city officials, ultimately, the District decided not to weigh in.
FOX 5 also reached out to Black Lives Matter but did not immediately hear back.