DC Mayor Bowser claims only 'one night of rioting' in city last summer

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser downplayed instances of rioting amid protests in the district over George Floyd’s death last summer during a tense exchange with Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., at a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

"I know that we had one night of rioting in the district in the summer," Bowser said. She added that Washington had "dozens of people arrested over the last year." Johnson continued with his line of questioning in an attempt to draw a parallel between law enforcement’s response to last summer’s protests and the response to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. He asked Bowser if authorities under her jurisdiction used geolocation tools to find and arrest people who participated in violent behavior last summer. In early June of last year, Bowser instituted a curfew that remained in place for several days in a bid to curb violence and property damage. More than 400 people were arrested in the first two weeks after the protests began last summer, mostly for curfew violations, looting or property damage, the Washington Post reported.