'This is America!' The astonishing moment secret service agent confronts Turkish president's bodyguards who roughed up journalists in DC

...it doesn't have to be this way

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was at Brookings Institute to give a speech

 Kurdish demonstrators clashed with pro-Erdogan demonstrators in street
Journalists critical of Erdogan also said they were kicked and barred from entering the Institute by his security guards. A Secret service agent was caught on film scolding two of the security detail



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 Photo: Joshua Roberts / Reuters 
Turkish security personnel struggle to take a sign away from protesters in front of the Brookings Institute before the arrival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, March 31, 2016.

Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters
 A Metropolitan police officer separates a protester from a member of the Turkish security detail in front of the Brookings Institute in Washington on Thursday.

 
Photo: Mashable
Security officers for the Turkish president clash with journalists outside the Brookings Institute in Washington on Thursday.  

This is the incredible moment a secret service agent was filmed scolding one of the Turkish president's bodyguards after clashes with protesters and reporters in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the capital for this week's nuclear summit with other world leaders when scuffles broke out outside the Brookings Institution.

Bystanders captured video of the president's security detail tearing anti-Erdogan banners from protesters' hands, while journalists claimed they were also pushed and kicked.

Seeming to echo the concerns of many onlookers, one secret service agent was filmed telling the Turkish security detail: 'This is America!'

This is the moment a secret service agent was caught on film scolding a member of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security detail after he clashed with protesters and journalists in Washington D.C.

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Erdogan's security detail (pictured) were accused of ripping banners from the hands of protesters and kicking journalists ahead of a speech by the Turkish premiere at Brookings Institute on Thursday

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Erdogan has been sharply criticized in recent years for a crackdown on the press and opponents of his regime in his home country, with journalists arrested and threatened

In footage filmed by Cenk Sidar, a Turkish columnist, the agent is heard saying: 'Stay on this side [of the road.] Do you understand? You tell him to calm down, this is America.

'Act like an adult, stay on this side of the road. End of story. By going over there and flipping the bird you're causing more problems for me, and for your protection.'

Erdogan's regime has been accused of a heavy crackdown on the press and freedom on speech in recent years.

Journalists critical of Erdogan have protested over arrests, foreign reporters say they have been harassed for their coverage, and one of the country's largest opposition publications was recently handed over to the state in a court decision in which no explanation was given.

On Thursday, as Erdogan arrived at the Brookings Institute to give a speech, protesters waving banners branding him a 'fascist' and a 'murderer' gathered outside.

Dozens of anti-Erdogan protesters, largely from the Kurdish ethnic group who have been helping fight ISIS in northern Syria, gathered outside Brookings on Thursday (pictured)

Clashes broke out between the Kurdish protesters and a smaller but vocal group of pro-Erdogan demonstrators thanking him for taking in Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict there

Many appeared to be representing the Kurds, an ethnic group from southern Turkey and northern Syria who have been attempting to establish their own state along Turkey's border after fighting off ISIS, while also carrying out suicide attacks inside Turkey itself.

They were joined by a smaller, but very vocal, group of pro-Erdogan supporters which prompted clashes between the two groups.

Things turned ugly with the arrival of Erdogan's security detail, as Turkish journalist Emre Uslu claims he was kicked in the leg by one of the guards.

The same journalist then said he was barred from getting inside to cover the event, while officials also tried to remove journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan from inside the building, before being forced to leave themselves.

Another journalist, Amberin Zaman, a former Turkey correspondent for The Economist, said the Turkish security detail called her a 'PKK whore' as she was standing outside the event. 

Following clashes outside Brookings, journalists attending the event claimed Erdogan's security (pictured) tried to evict them from inside the event before the guards themselves were ejected

The PKK, or Kurdistan Worker's Party, is a Kurdish militant group that Turkey and the United States classifies as a terrorist organization.

Brookings said in a statement that its staff had sought to ensure that journalists on its guest list were allowed in.

In his speech, Erdogan addressed a wide array of foreign policy issues. He expressed optimism about improving relations with Israel and holding talks to reunify Cyprus. 

He also criticized Western support of Kurdish rebels in Syria whom Turkey considers part of a terrorist group, and called for more Western funding to help Syrian refugees.

Erdogan has faced a cool reception from the Obama administration, but he said 
 U.S.-Turkish relations are good. 

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