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U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro vowed that her office is coming after juveniles who wreak havoc in the nation’s capital, along with their parents, after yet another violent brawl in the city’s Navy Yard, this time at a Chipotle restaurant.
“These are not harmless gatherings. They are violent and they are disruptive. And you can see from what happened at Chipotle this past weekend, it was not just violence occurring between individuals. It was simply destruction of property. It was a takeover of a restaurant by individuals who felt that they could get away with it,” Pirro told reporters at a news conference Monday.
“Well, they’re not going to get away with it. And I’m going to tell you how in a couple of minutes. But this terrorizing is going to end. And the message that lawlessness runs the streets is over. The city belongs to law-abiding residents, not roaming mobs looking to make a name for themselves or to contribute to the chaos or violence, and to get social media attention.”
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“Parents, you are not a bystander in this crisis. The taxpayers who were footing the bill by extra policing, cleaning up damaged property, suffering the effects of these illegal gatherings, whether it be noise or fights or robberies or chaos, are done starting now,” she added. “Parents, you’re paying the bills and if you know where your teen is and what your teen is doing, and you allow them to continue their conduct and continue to allow them to flourish, then we’re going to prosecute you.”
Pirro said the Metro Police and the FBI are investigating.
In the shocking video of the fight, which Metro D.C. police say occurred Saturday night around 8:40 p.m., about eight adolescents can be seen throwing punches and hurling restaurant furniture at one another as innocent bystanders huddle for safety in the corner of the restaurant.
At the beginning of the video, one suspect in the fight wearing a plastic COVID-19 era mask can be seen beating another suspect with a children’s high chair, hitting him over the head with it twice and then throwing it at him. At another point in the video, a chair was launched across the store.
All of the suspects were dressed head-to-toe in black, with some wearing hoods and masks.
All the while, at least six people, including three young children, huddled behind a man in a red polo shirt in the corner of the restaurant.
The video began as the combatants were already fighting, and lasted for 33 seconds until some of the juveniles involved fled the store. The store was left in complete disarray.
“Witnesses reported one group of juveniles were inside of the establishment when another group entered and a fight broke out immediately,” MPD said in a Monday morning statement. “Both groups fled prior to the officer’s arrival. No injuries were reported.”
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MPD says detectives are investigating, and invited anyone with information to come forward.
Friday night, Pirro announced that her office will crack down on parents of juveniles who wreak havoc in the streets of the nation’s capital. Teen takeovers, many involving massive brawls in the Navy Yard neighborhood, have been documented for years.
“Teen takeovers have disrupted neighborhoods, forced businesses to close temporarily, and diverted valuable law enforcement resources from the residents of the District,” Pirro said in a statement. “These incidents have become increasingly common in areas such as Navy Yard and NoMa and are often accompanied by criminal conduct, including assaults, robberies, fights, and other disorderly behavior.”
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She said that even though D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has imposed a juvenile curfew, more effort needs to be exerted to combat the youth rowdiness.
“The D.C. Council refuses to deal with the problem, and their lack of action creates an extremely dangerous situation for the people of the District and the teens themselves,” Pirro said. “Law-abiding taxpayers should not subsidize chaos caused by parental neglect. Parents do your job, or we will do ours.”
Adults can now be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor if their children are busted causing late-night chaos, according to the release.
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Pirro elaborated further in a news conference on Friday.
“Starting today, my office will aggressively prosecute parents under D.C.’s curfew law,” she said. “It involves contributing to the delinquency of a minor. This statute makes it unlawful for an adult to enable, facilitate, or permit a minor to engage in delinquent acts.”
“At Chipotle, the health and safety of our employees and our guests is our highest priority,” Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer at Chipotle, told Fox News Digital. “We have zero tolerance for guests who behave recklessly in our restaurants and put others at risk. No team members or guests were physically injured, and we are actively supporting local law enforcement in their investigation of the incident.”
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