[4] The clashes were decried as a Turkish attack on American protesters exercising their First Amendment rights, which guarantees freedom of speech and assembly.

[7] However, on June 6, a U.S. House resolution unanimously passed calling for all Turkish security guards involved to be charged and prosecuted under United States law.

However, a video widely circulated on social media showed that the pro-Erdoğan supporters and Turkish security guards instead dodged the police officers to attack the peaceful protesters.

"[20] A group of nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers, led by Representative Carolyn Maloney, wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demanding that the Turkish guards be "arrested, prosecuted and jailed.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the clashes a "violent attack on a peaceful demonstration," and said it "is an affront to DC values and our rights as Americans.

"[23] On May 17, the D.C. Police Department announced that two individuals had been arrested in connection with the clashes,[12] and stated "The actions seen outside the Turkish Embassy yesterday in Washington, D.C. stand in contrast to the First Amendment rights and principles we work tirelessly to protect each and every day."

"[23] The Turkish Embassy in Washington accused the protesters of starting the clashes by "aggressively provoking" Turkish-American citizens who had gathered to greet the president, leading them to respond in "self-defense".

[7][12] The embassies officials blamed the people affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group considered to be a terrorist organization by Turkey and United States, for the clashes.

Ambassador John R. Bass and released a statement protesting "aggressive and unprofessional actions" by U.S. security personnel and called the United States to conduct a "full investigation of this diplomatic incident and provide the necessary explanation.

[27] Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for the Turkish government to "finally accept responsibility for this egregious incident and apologise to those who were harmed".

[8] The day following the vote, Turkey dismissed the resolution saying that it would "distort and politicize" matters and that the measure was "against the spirit of alliance and partnership" between the two countries.

[28] As a consequence of this violence, the German government, host of the 2017 G20 Hamburg summit in July 2017, reportedly rejected the attendance of twelve guards from Turkey's presidential security team.

[32] In a PBS NewsHour interview with Judy Woodruff on September 19, 2017, Erdoğan said that Trump had called him the previous week to apologize for the incident, and promised to follow up on it during future talks with the Turkish government.

[38] Contradicting earlier statements, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert denied political pressure was behind the decision and claimed that a lack of evidence prompted them to drop the charges.

[46][47] On May 16, 2024, U.S. congressman John Sarbanes led a bipartisan group of 73 lawmakers urging the State Department to hold Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accountable.