George Floyd protests turn violent after Trump vows to bring in military

Hundreds demonstrated across the United States on Monday (June 1) during some violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody, hours after President Donald Trump vowed to use the U.S. military to halt the spreading clashes.

Trump deepened outrage by posing at a church clutching a bible after law enforcement officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the way for him to walk there after he made his remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

Demonstrators set fire to a strip mall in Los Angeles, looted stores in New York City and clashed with police in St Louis, Missouri, where four officers were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Trump has condemned the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died after a white policeman pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25, and has promised justice. But he said rightful protests could not be drowned out by an "angry mob".

"Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled," Trump said. "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."

Following his address, Trump walked through an area that had been cleared by police to nearby St. John's Episcopal Church, where he posed for pictures with his daughter, Ivanka, and U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church diocese in Washington D. C., Michael Curry, was among those who criticized Trump's use of the historic church for a photo opportunity.

The White House said it was clearing the area before a curfew.

A few hours later, thousands of people marched through Brooklyn, shouting "Justice now!" while cars drove alongside, some drivers honking in support.

Television images showed crowds smashing windows and looting luxury stores along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan before the city's 11 p.m. curfew. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the curfew would be moved to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Two police officers were struck by a car at a demonstration in Buffalo, New York, on Monday night. Officials said the driver and passengers were believed to be in custody. It was not immediately clear whether the incident was intentional.

Anti-police brutality marches and rallies have turned violent after dark each night over the last week.

Derek Chauvin, the 44-year-old Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd, was arrested on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Three other officers involved in the arrest have not been charged.

Floyd's death was the latest case of police brutality against black men that was caught on videotape and prompted an outcry over racism in U.S. law enforcement.

It reignited simmering racial tensions in a politically divided country that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with African Americans accounting for a disproportionately high number of cases.

Dozens of cities are under curfews not seen since riots after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The National Guard deployed in 23 states and Washington, D.C.

Most Americans were just emerging from weeks of strict "stay-at-home" orders imposed over the pandemic.

 

 

 

 

 

REUTERS