An event that was supposed to be festive turned ugly after pro-Hamas agitators crashed it, triggering a shoving match and at least one attendee being punched.
The 13th Congressional Democratic Party, based in Detroit, was held at Common Pub near Wayne State University Saturday night, WXYZ reported.
Moments after U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D) began speaking, pro-Hamas protesters used a bullhorn.
“Shri, do you believe in a free Palestine?” the woman shouted.
“Hey, Shri, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide,” she chanted as other joined in. That’s when things began to melt down.
For the next several minutes, attendees attempted to get the agitators out of the event, pushing them towards the door.
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The temperature continued to rise as the shoving increased, and a woman was punched in the face by one of the agitators.
As the party devolved into a melee, crashers chanted, “ceasefire now!”
“They’re just trying to stop the war, man. That’s all,” a pro-Hamas apologist said as he moved closer to the door.
A woman on the receiving end of the aggression went live on social media:
Chaos broke out at the 13th Congressional Democrats' Christmas party Saturday.
A woman was bloodied and called on "black men" to "stand the f*ck up" and fight back against "the Arabs" who crashed the event.
"Them Arabs in motherfu*kin' Detroit tried to kill me!" pic.twitter.com/jBbsNS21Yu
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) December 20, 2023
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“They tried to kill me!” she said tearfully.
“It’s the 13th District Democratic Party and the Arabs are coming! They tried to kill me!” she said tearfully. “And they’re talking about ceasefire and they tried to kill me!”
“Them Arabs in motherfu*kin’ Detroit tried to kill me! I need you, black men, to stand the f*ck up,” she said.
“It was something we never expected,” 91-year-old Bernice Smith told the news station after the fruitcake-fueled fracas.
“This is not going to give you support for your cause,” Thanedar said Monday. “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.”
Detroit police said no arrests were made.