A Supreme Court police car was set on fire Wednesday afternoon in front of the superior court and police have a suspect in custody, Fox News reports.
The vehicle was parked on Maryland Avenue NE in Washington when someone used gasoline, or some other flammable liquid, to set it on fire, Fox News found out.
“One person poured an accelerator and set fire to an unmarked Supreme Court police vehicle parked on Maryland Ave. near First Street, NE,” said Kathy Arberg, spokeswoman for the United States Supreme Court. “The car was completely burned and an adjacent court vehicle was also damaged.”
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The suspect was taken into police custody with minor injuries that were sustained by setting the car on fire, the source said. No other injuries were reported and police officers were not harmed in the attack, Fox News is told.
“The individual suffered burns in the process,” said Arberg. “The Supreme Court police detained him and transported him by ambulance to treat his injuries.”
The incident comes amid protests across the country over racial injustice and police brutality since George Floyd’s death in late May while in Minneapolis police custody. Floyd’s death, along with that of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, has also prompted calls by progressive lawmakers and activists to “strip the police” and has led to violence and vandalism in some cases.
President Trump has spoken out strongly against the movement and has doubled in recent weeks on his promise to be a “law and order” leader.
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“Our officers have been under cruel assault,” Trump said Monday during a roundtable discussion with people whose lives have been positively impacted by police. “Reckless politicians have slandered our heroes as enemies … These radical politicians want to vanish and abolish the police.”
Trump added: “My administration is in favor of security, the police and the fight against crime.”
Fox News’ Laura Timmermann contributed to this report.