Supreme Court police vehicle set ablaze, 1 person in custody

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A Supreme Court police car was set ablaze on Wednesday afternoon outside the high court and police have a suspect in custody, Fox News is told.

The vehicle was parked on Maryland Avenue N.E. in Washington when someone used gasoline, or some other flammable liquid, to set it on fire, Fox News has learned.

"An individual poured an accelerant on and set on fire an unmarked Supreme Court police vehicle parked on Maryland Ave. near First Street, NE," said Kathy Arberg, spokeswoman for the U.S. Supreme Court. "The car was totally burned and an adjacent Court vehicle was also damaged."

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The suspect was taken into police custody with minor injuries that were sustained when setting the car ablaze, the source said. No other injuries were reported and no police officers were harmed in the attack, Fox News is told.

"The individual suffered burns in the process," Arberg said. "He was taken into custody by Supreme Court Police and was transported by ambulance for treatment of his injuries."

A Supreme Court car was set ablaze on Wednesday afternoon outside the high court and police have a suspect in custody (Fox News).

The incident comes amid nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality since the death of George Floyd in late May while in Minneapolis police custody. The death of Floyd – along with that of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky. – has also sparked calls from activists and progressive lawmakers to “defund the police” and has led to violence and vandalism in some cases.

President Trump has come out strongly against the movement and doubled-down in the last few weeks on his vow to be a “law and order” leader.

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“Our officers have been under vicious assault,” Trump said on Monday, during a roundtable with people whose lives have been positively impacted by law enforcement. “Reckless politicians have defamed our heroes as the enemy … These radical politicians want to defund and abolish the police.”

Trump added: “My administration is pro-safety, pro-police and anti-crime.”

Fox News' Laura Timmermann contributed to this report.