Victim, community leaders return to site of confrontation with hate group in Boston
Boston community leaders and a Black artist who was injured in an altercation with a white nationalist group returned to the scene of that confrontation on Monday morning.
Dozens of people who appeared to be affiliated with Patriot Front, a designated hate group, marched through busy parts of the city on Saturday, including the Freedom Trail.
Those people concealed their faces while wearing shirts that read: "Reclaim America." According to the Anti-Defamation League, that phrase became associated with Patriot Front after the group split from the openly antisemitic and neo-Nazi Vanguard America.
Boston police said they responded to the intersection of Dartmouth and Stuart streets, near Copley Square, at about 1:25 p.m., where a Black artist later identified as Charles Murrell was injured. Murrell told police he was assaulted by members of the group after asking them to stop and they pushed back. Police said that Murrell suffered cuts to his head, eyebrow and one finger, and was transported to Boston Medical Center to be treated.
Murrell returned to the area Monday with community and religious leaders.
"My understanding is that he was pushed and there was a great deal of shoving. I think that's obvious in the photography that we've all seen. But there was some pushing and some shoving and words were exchanged," said Rev. Kevin Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition.
Peterson said Murrell, who attended Monday's event with a bandage on his hand, had not yet retained an attorney.
When Murrell's turn at the microphone came Monday, he sang a traditional African-American spiritual, "Another Man Done Gone," and invited the public to an upcoming concert aimed at healing and reconciliation.
"I have always used art as a means of resistance," Murrell said.
Murrell only spoke about the incident indirectly.
"I am appalled that even as a healer I have to get my cup poured into in this incident, but in this incident I will continue to pour into other people's cups," Murrell said.
At a separate event Monday, Mayor Michelle Wu said the incident was being investigated.
"Investigations are still ongoing, particularly the civil rights investigation around the brief confrontation that happened right outside the police station as this group was departing," Wu said. "We're looking into their identities and there already has been some information shared in various parts about the national leaders of this group who were part of this effort, who were in town, were present at the recent events as this group has gone to terrorize other communities as well."
In response to questions from reporters, Peterson said Murrell would come forward in the future about his view of what happened on Saturday.
"It isn't clear if the police were as helpful as they could've been," said Peterson. "Mr. Murrell at the appropriate time will elucidate his experience in terms of him being surrounded by a group of racists and how law enforcement responded to him in his distress."
Peterson and others called on the city to continue to do more to address its history of racism and inequality.
"It is a moment where we are seeing the rise of hate and white supremacist groups across the country," Wu also said. "Boston, given our history, given the national attention that we get, does become a little bit of a platform for that. And so we are in touch with community groups and law enforcement across the city, state and federal levels to ensure that we're prepared for today and monitoring the situation."