Donald Trump threatens to use the army as US protests continue to rage
US President Donald Trump yesterday threatened to call in the army to put down demonstrators as protests continued to rage over the killing by white police of George Floyd.
It came as police used flash grenades and tear gas to disperse protesters in Washington DC yesterday so that Trump could walk to a church and pose with a Bible.
Protests continued across the country for the seventh straight day yesterday. They began last week after a video showed a white policeman killing black man George Floyd by grinding his knee into his neck for eight minutes.
What were largely peaceful day demonstrations yesterday again turned into fiery destruction last night as protesters raged against police brutality.
In one of his first public appearances since the protests began, Trump threatened to send the army on to the streets to tackle protesters.
“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.”
Protests show little sign of slowing
Meanwhile, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at peaceful protesters so that Trump could walk to St John’s Episcopal church, where he posed for pictures holding a Bible.
That drew criticism from Reverend Mariann Budde who oversees the church. She told the Washington Times she was “outraged” and that Trump had used the church as a “prop”.
Violence then erupted later in the night across the country. In New York, protesters smashed windows and luxury stores on the famous Fifth Avenue and thronged through Brooklyn. On the west coast, protesters marched through Hollywood and dozens looted stores.
Police and protesters clashed across the US, with the former heavily armed and once again firing tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators in scenes reminiscent of riots in the 1960s.
The protests over the police killing of Floyd show no signs of relenting. A second autopsy released yesterday showed that his death was due to “mechanical asphyxiation” and said that three white police officers contributed to his death.
It contradicted an autopsy by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner that said Floyd’s death was likely in part due to heart disease and intoxicants.
Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes, was arrested on murder and manslaughter charges. But the three other officers involved in the arrest have not been charged.