Mayor Michelle Wu and law enforcement officials will give an update Tuesday after white supremacists marched through the streets of Boston over the weekend.
Wu will join Boston Police Superintendent in Chief Gregory Long and U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins for a briefing on white supremacist activity in the region, according to her office. Afterward, officials will give an update at 12:30 p.m. from Boston Police headquarters.
The briefing comes after Boston community and faith leaders called on city leaders to take action in response to a demonstration by dozens of apparent white supremacists who marched through the city’s streets and allegedly attacked a Black man on Saturday.
Around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, about 100 protesters had gathered on Congress Street near City Hall Plaza.
Photos and videos posted to social media showed dozens of protesters marching under the banner of the Patriot Front, characterized by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white supremacist group.
The group has recently made appearances across the country. More than two dozen members were arrested last month in Idaho when they allegedly targeted a Pride festival.
Wu said Monday that investigators were looking into a confrontation that broke out during the march near Back Bay station, though no charges have been filed yet. A photo captured by Boston Herald photographer Stuart Cahill appears to show marchers clashing with a Black man.
Getty Images BOSTON, MA – July 2: A fight breaks out as the white supremacist group, The Patriot Front marches thru the city of Boston on July 2, 2022 in , BOSTON, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
The victim of that attack was identified by community leaders as Charles Murrell, an artist and peace advocate in the Boston area. Murrell, whose hand was bandaged Monday, did not want to speak to specific details of the attack.
According to a police report, Murrell was walking down the street when he was in the middle of a group of men with masks who shoved and pushed him. He fought back, and then more men went after him, knocking him to the ground. He received stitches to his hand and had cuts on his head.
Murrell has called for peace and invited those listening to a peace and reconciliation concert on July 14 at 7 p.m. at Copley Square, an event he said would serve as a call to action.
City officials said over the weekend that they had no prior knowledge of the demonstration. Many took to social media to condemn the march when the news first broke on Saturday.
