Miami Herald reporter Aaron Leibowitz captured the strange moment that supporters of President Donald Trump attempted to hold an "All Lives Matter" rally in Miami Lakes. But the protest demanding "All Lives Matter" shifted quickly to being just all about Trump.
He explained that there was a "tense few minutes" when a couple came to the protest with a Black Voices Matter sign and stood in front of the group. The Trump supporters crowded around them, screaming and chanting, "Communistas!" So, police moved them across the street. There was no violence.
In his report on the contrasting rallies, he explained that Maria Martinez, who helped organize the event, told the crowd that she condemned the slaying of George Floyd, but said that most victims of police brutality bring it on themselves.
"At the end of the day, it comes down to this: Do what is right, respect authority, stay out of trouble, don't commit crimes, never resist the police, and you will be okay," Martinez said.
She then attacked the Black Lives Matter movement as being all about LGBTQ people.
Black Lives Matter "wants to dismantle the biblical definition of family," she claimed.
While there was a lot of honking in support of the handful of Trump supporters, only a few more joined them, growing to about 100 people. Among the Trump signs was also a man holding a blue-line flag, which was once meant to support police, but has been adopted by white supremacists to oppose the Black Lives Matter movement.
Then the Trump supporters began attacking the reporter.
"This woman just tried to take a picture of my license plate and called me some obscenities. She said she's a Miami Lakes police officer but declined to give her name," he tweeted.
Across town, a group of Black Lives Matter protesters joined faith leaders and pastors, demanding an end to police brutality.
"It's not just one culture," Pastor Carl Johnson of the 93rd Street Community Baptist Church said. "It's all cultures and faiths coming together, unified for a proper, peaceful protest. This has never been seen in Miami-Dade at this level. And you're going to hear me talk about a purposeful plan because you can't just have a protest and no plan. We can push forward to make our society better when it comes to racism. Bottom line: Racism is hatred. Racism is intolerance toward another culture."
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