A group of Republicans in Congress are calling on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to rename Black Lives Matter Plaza, saying BLM groups across the country and in the nation's capital have made "pro-Hamas" comments on social media.
Twenty-five members of the House and Senate sent a letter to Bowser Monday asking her to "remove the street painting that reads 'Black Lives Matter' due to that movement's celebration of violent antisemitic terrorism." Sens. Marco Rubio, Thom Tillis and Marsha Blackburn, as well as Reps. Jim Banks, Ralph Norman and Josh Breechan are among those who signed the letter.
The letter cites examples of social media posts from BLM chapters after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that killed 1,400 people, including a post from the D.C. BLM chapter that accuses Israel of "apartheid."
Another post cited in the letter from the BLM Chicago chapter appeared to glorify a terrorist attack. The chapter later removed the post and released a statement that reads in part, "Yesterday we sent out mgs [sic] that we aren’t proud of."
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Neither the D.C. or Chicago chapters responded to News4's request for comment.
"BLM has circulated disturbing antisemitic rhetoric and images on social media and is encouraging the spread of pro-Hamas propaganda following the terrorist attacks," Sen. Lindsay Graham said in a statement accompanying the letter.
In her first public statement about the renaming request, Bowser told News4 Wednesday she had not yet responded to the letter.
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"I haven't, but I would guess that those same senators never … wanted me to name 16th Street Black Lives Matter Plaza," Bowser said.
Bowser designated the two-block stretch of 16th Street in front of the White House as Black Lives Matter Plaza in the summer of 2020 amid racial justice protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd.
"What they should know is that is a public art piece. Artists rendered it, artists painted it and Jews and Gentiles were there to support it. And it's not linked to any particular group or person, but it is an expression of, I think, what our city felt and continues to feel," Bowser said.
Bowser said next year the city plans to install signs to explain the mural and why the street was named Black Lives Matter Plaza.
