Aliyev Bodyguards Attack Peaceful Protesters During Trump's Board of Peace Summit in Washington, DC
Attack echoes Erdogan's 2017 assault on protesters at Sheridan Circle; ANCA calls for U.S. government condemnation and immediate federal and local law enforcement investigation
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice and local law enforcement to prosecute members of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's security detail videotaped attacking peaceful protesters outside the site of President Trump's inaugural Board of Peace summit in Washington, DC. The demonstrators had gathered to protest Aliyev's tyrannical rule and brutal repression of political dissidents. The attack drew immediate comparisons to the 2017 Sheridan Circle incident, when Turkish President Erdogan ordered his security detail to physically assault Kurdish and Armenian protesters outside the Turkish Ambassador's residence in Washington, DC.
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia are founding members of the Board of Peace, with Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan among the heads of state present at Thursday's inaugural meeting. It was outside that summit that Aliyev's security detail turned on the demonstrators.
"Aliyev's bodyguards beating protesters on the streets of Washington DC is Sheridan Circle 2.0 – a petro-dictator's thugs assaulting Americans on U.S. soil. Aliyev ethnically cleansed Artsakh, drove 150,000 indigenous Armenians from their homeland at gunpoint, and today holds Armenian prisoners as political hostages. Today, he brought that same brutality to our streets. ANCA has long called for sanctions on Azerbaijan for exactly this reason – dictators who face no consequences will invariably export their violence wherever they go," stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
Echoes of Sheridan Circle
When Erdogan's security detail attacked Kurdish and Armenian protesters outside the Turkish Ambassador's residence in 2017, the assault was widely condemned and prompted a unanimous 397-0 vote in the House on H.Res.354 – introduced by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY) – condemning the violence and calling for the perpetrators to be charged and prosecuted under U.S. law. ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who witnessed the Sheridan Circle attack firsthand and live-broadcast it on social media, subsequently testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urging a strong response.
A grand jury ultimately indicted 19 Turkish security officials on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence. But in March 2018, the Department of Justice dropped charges against eleven of the fifteen defendants – just days before high-level meetings between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Erdogan in Ankara.
Congressional Condemnation
Members of Congress were swift to respond. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) reposted ANCA's video of the attack, writing: "Bloodsoaked strongmen like Aliyev have no place being paraded around Washington, and they have no right to send hired thugs to attack protestors on the streets of our capital city. I am calling on @POTUS and @DOJ to ensure these violent criminals are not allowed to flee and are brought to justice immediately."
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) also condemned the assault: "Trump made Azerbaijan a founding member of his so-called 'Board of Peace', but what this video shows is anything but peaceful. We cannot allow Azerbaijan to import their attacks on protestors and free speech to American soil with impunity. Those responsible for this attack must be held accountable."
A Pattern of Impunity
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Azerbaijan just last week, where the U.S. announced a strategic partnership agreement with Baku and new investments in Azerbaijan's energy and security sectors. In the days that followed Vance's visit, Azerbaijan sentenced Armenian detainee Ruben Vardanyan – the former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh – to life in prison, following the prior sentencing of 15 other Armenian hostages. At the Munich Security Conference, Aliyev declared he would grant clemency to none of the Armenian detainees.
For decades, successive administrations have emboldened Azerbaijan's authoritarianism by waiving Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act – providing military assistance and energy investments while refusing to hold Baku accountable for mounting repression at home, war crimes in Artsakh, and the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh's indigenous Armenian Christian population. That cycle of appeasement and impunity has now come to the streets of Washington, DC.
ANCA Demands Congressional Action on Azerbaijan Sanctions
The ANCA is calling on Members of Congress to condemn today's attack and demand an immediate Department of Justice investigation and prosecution of Aliyev's security detail to the fullest extent of the law. The ANCA is further urging Congress to advance two key pieces of pending legislation. The Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act of 2025 (H.R.5369), led by Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), would direct the Trump-Vance Administration to review the applicability of Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for war crimes, human rights abuses, and the ongoing illegal detention of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives.
The ARMENIA Security Partnership Act (H.R.6840), led by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), would prohibit the president from waiving Section 907 restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan unless the Aliyev regime takes concrete steps toward a lasting peace with Armenia.
Photo Caption: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's security detail attacks a peaceful protester outside the site of President Trump's inaugural Board of Peace summit in Washington, DC, February 19, 2026.
Video: Video footage shows Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's security detail attacking peaceful protesters outside the site of President Trump's inaugural Board of Peace summit in Washington, DC, February 19, 2026.
