Two men were arrested by federal law enforcement agents early Wednesday morning in connection with a violent altercation that occurred outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC last month, according to the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force.
Both men are Turkish nationals and were arrested on charges of aggravated assault, according to Commander Rob Fernandez of the task force.
Metropolitan Police identified the two Turkish nationals arrested for their alleged roles in the brawl.
Sinan Narin of Virginia was arrested at his job near McLean, Virginia and charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner. Eyup Yildirim was arrested at his home hear Manchester, New Jersey charged with felony assault with significant bodily injury, felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner. He is currently awaiting extradition in New Jersey.
Others involved in the brawl left the US prior to the completion of the investigation and before arrest warrants could be obtained for them, a law enforcement official told CNN.
Last month, the DC Fire and EMS Department tweeted that nine people were hospitalized after approximately two dozen protesters turned out in front of the ambassador’s residence, shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with President Donald Trump.
Following the clash, footage surfaced showing Erdogan watching his security detail beating up the demonstrators.
The Turkish envoy said the protesters were “affiliated with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party)” and had assembled without permission. The US State Department said the Turkish security involved in the altercation appeared to be embassy and Erdogan security staff.
A State Department official condemned the the actions of the security staff: “The conduct of Turkish security personnel earlier this week is deeply disturbing.”
Turkish Ambassador Serdar K?l?ç was summoned to the State Department the week after the brawl, a senior State Department official told CNN.
“The conduct of Turkish security personnel earlier this week is deeply disturbing,” the official said. “The State Department has raised its concerns about these events at the highest levels and a thorough investigation that will allow us to hold the responsible individuals accountable is of the utmost importance to us.”
Likewise, the US Ambassador to Turkey was summoned before Turkish officials who objected to the way the situation was handled.
Turkey said that the “lapses of security” during Erdogan’s stay were “caused by the inability of US authorities to take sufficient precautions at every stage of the official program.”