A holiday gathering hosted by local Michigan Democrats turned violent after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the event. A Democratic activist wounded up hospitalized, and others were injured in the ensuing fracas. The incident reportedly happened on December 16 during a private holiday party hosted by the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party.
The venue was the Common Pub in Detroit. Allegedly, soon after the party began, nearly 20 to 30 pro-Palestinian protesters—part of the Palestinian Youth Movement and Party for Socialism and Liberation—confronted Rep. Shri Thanedar over his support for Israel. Then things got out of hand.
“Shri, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” the protesters chanted, in reference to the Israel-Gaza war.
Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch, who represents District 2, posted a clip from the party on X (formerly Twitter). Folks can be seen pushing and shoving in the footage as gospel music loudly plays in the background.
Kinloch captioned the clip: “Last night at the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Annual Holiday Party, pro-Palestinian protesters caused chaos and mayhem, and they badly injured black community activist Ms. Bobbie Avington-Johnson, who remains in the hospital.”
Though it hasn’t been confirmed who hit Avington-Johnson, she reporteldy suffered two black eyes. She later went on Instagram Live to talk about the incident.
In a statement Wednesday, Detroit Police Department spokesman Jordan Hall said that the incident is still under investigation.
Additionally, no arrests have been made. “This is not going to give you support for your cause,” Thanedar stated during a press conference earlier this week. “I welcome them to come to my office. I welcome them to invite me to town halls where I could come and we can have a dialogue.”
During that same conference, Kinloch stated: “They didn’t have a right to be there, first and foremost. It’s not about whether or not they were being violent, whether or not they were being disruptive. They were not supposed to be there.”