Four stabbed, one shot as Trump supporters and opponents clash

One person was shot Saturday in Olympia, Washington, and four people were stabbed in Washington, DC, as demonstrators clashed with counterprotesters over the US presidential election, racial injustice and pandemic restrictions.

All the victims in the Washington, DC, stabbings were believed to have sustained critical injuries Saturday night, said Doug Buchanan, spokesman for the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

Additionally, at least one police officer sustained minor injuries in an unrelated skirmish, Buchanan said. In all, eight people were taken to hospitals for medical attention, he said.

In Olympia a suspect was detained in the shooting, said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Darren Wright, who indicated that pro-President Donald Trump and anti-Trump demonstrators clashed in and around the Capital Campus area and that some protesters seemed prepared for violence.

"Both sides have heavily armed individuals in the groups," he said. "We’ve had sporadic confrontations throughout the day."

Demonstrators in the state capital included Trump supporters, Black Lives Matter activists and people opposed to pandemic restrictions.

Wright said authorities declared an unlawful assembly, leading many protesters to disperse.

Back in the nation's capital, Metropolitan Police Department officers arrested at least half-dozen people as "March For Trump" protesters clashed with counterdemonstrators. Pro-Trump marchers chanted, "Four more years" and, "We want Trump."

Former national security advisor Michael Flynn and Infowars host Alex Jones spoke at the event. Video posted on social media appeared to show people wearing the insignia and black and yellow colours of Proud Boys, a group the FBI has linked to white nationalism.

Marine One, the designation given to a military helicopter when the president is on board, flew over the protests, according to a tweet by White House social media director Dan Scavino.

Trump tweeted a video of demonstrators singing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

(Source: NBC News)