Alleged assault by white supremacists in Boston should be prosecuted “within the fullest extent of the law,” mayor says

The group accused of attacking a man in Boston during a white supremacist march on Saturday should be prosecuted “within the fullest extent of the law,” the city’s mayor said Tuesday. Mayor Michelle Wu said there’s an ongoing investigation into the alleged assault. 

Wu’s comments come after dozens of masked white supremacists marched through downtown Boston on Saturday, CBS Boston said. 

One man, 34-year-old Charles Murrell, said he was surrounded and attacked by men with shields, CBS Boston reported. The alleged assault left him with cuts on his head, hand and eyebrow, he said. 

Boston police told CBS Boston that they responded to the area on reports of an assault, and that the victim was transported to receive stitches. They said the caller told them he was shoved by the group of men and that he swung his arm to get away before the men knocked him down and kicked him. 

CBS Boston reported that the men, some of whom carried flags and police shields, were members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front. The men were wearing T-shirts that said “Reclaim America,” and that some had American flags and police shields, CBS Boston said. No arrests have been made. 

Wu said Tuesday that the investigation into the alleged attack was hampered by the fact that the men were wearing masks. But Boston Police Superintendent in Chief Greg Long said a large amount of video has been recovered, adding that charges will be brought if the men can be identified.  

ADL New England Regional Director Robert Trestan told CBS Boston that more than 100 Patriot Front members were in attendance. 

“People are characterizing it as a protest but I think we need to take a look at everything that we saw and heard which really has all of the indicators of an act of defiance, an act of intimidation,” Trestan said. 

The incident comes about a month after another group of men, who were also believed to be members of Patriot Front, were arrested near a pride event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The 31 men were found in a U-Haul, and police said they were likely intending to riot, noting that authorities found shields and at least one smoke grenade inside the truck.