EDMONTON -- A U.S. teen publicly shamed her mother for being punched in the face during a violent altercation at a pro-Trump rally outside of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
鈥淗i mom remember the time you told me I shouldn鈥檛 go to BLM protests [because] they could get violent... this you,鈥� read a tweet sent by 18-year-old Helena Duke on Thursday.
The tweet included a video showing a Black woman, who appears to be wearing a security uniform, speaking into her phone in a crowd of people, many wearing 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� (MAGA) hats and pro-Trump apparel.
The video shows a white woman reaching over to grab the phone. The Black woman reacts, punching her in the face, and chaos breaks out in the crowd.
Duke, who was unaware of her mother鈥檚 whereabouts, was shocked to find out the woman pictured in the video was her mother.
鈥淢y mom told me she was taking her sister to get a procedure done. She was really vague about it and didn鈥檛 tell me where she was going. The day she left, she turned her location tracking off,鈥� Duke told CTVNews.ca by phone from Massachusetts.
鈥淥ne of my cousins sent the video to me and said, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 your mom.鈥欌��
The video, which has garnered nearly 7 million views since it was posted to Twitter on Wednesday, was reportedly taken during a fight between supporters of Black Lives Matter and Trump at Freedom Plaza in Washington.
Duke鈥檚 tweet had been retweeted more than 56,000 times at time of publishing, many calling her a 鈥渉ero鈥� for holding her mother accountable, and others reaching out to offer support to the teen.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely been a lot of turmoil [in my family],鈥� Duke told CTVNews.ca, noting her mother has forced her to leave home over similar situations in the past.
鈥淥ur political views are obviously very different. In the height of the Black Lives Matter protests I decided to go, but my mom was telling me 鈥榓bsolutely not鈥� because she thought Black Lives Matter was violent and that the protests would get violent.
I just find it very hypocritical,鈥� she continued.
Duke claimed her uncle and aunt were also in attendance at the riot.
The teen, who is staying with her girlfriend鈥檚 family for the time being, said she has had limited contact with her mother since the incident. Her mother has since returned home.
Though her mother has accused her of putting the family in danger, Duke says she doesn鈥檛 regret publicly identifying her mother.
鈥淎t first, I was like, 鈥業 knew it.鈥� Then I thought, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 my mom.鈥� It鈥檚 very surreal, all of it,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut she has to be held accountable.鈥�
The FBI has since asked for Americans to help identify the people that participated in Wednesday's riot and insurrection at the Capitol by submitting names or photos and videos of those involved.
Duke has not formally reported her mother to the authorities, but notes that both the video and her tweets have been shared widely enough that someone else may have.鈥�
