Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta were among twenty cities ordering people to stay indoors.
Minneapolis:
Curfews were imposed on major US cities on Saturday as clashes against police violence intensified across America, with protesters ignoring President Donald Trump’s warnings that his government would “end” cold weather. violent demonstrations.
Minneapolis, the epicenter of the disturbances, was seized by a fifth consecutive night of violence with police in riot gear firing tear gas and stun grenades at demonstrators who exasperated the fury of the death of a black man during ‘an arrest Monday in the city.
Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta were among two dozen cities that ordered people to stay indoors overnight as more and more states called on National Guard soldiers to help control the unrest. civilians who had not been seen in the United States in years.
From Seattle to New York, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand tougher murder charges and more arrests for the death of George Floyd who stopped breathing after the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck for almost nine minutes.
In Los Angeles, police fired rubber bullets and threw batons in a chilly confrontation with demonstrators who set fire to a police car.
Police and protesters clashed in many cities, including Chicago and New York, officers responding to projectiles with pepper spray while shop windows were smashed in Philadelphia.
Trump has accused the far left of violence, including widespread looting and arson in Minneapolis, saying the rioters dishonor the memory of Floyd.
“We cannot and should not allow a small group of criminals and vandals to destroy our cities and devastate our communities,” said the president.
“My administration will put an end to the violence of the crowds. And we will stop it cold,” he added, accusing the militant and cowardly anti-fascist network Antifa of having orchestrated the violence.
Rioters must be “wiped out”
Peaceful protests also took place, including in Toronto as the movement spread beyond the borders of the United States.
Protesters across the country chanted slogans such as “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe,” that Floyd, who has become a new symbol of police brutality, was heard several times before his death.
“We don’t turn our cheeks anymore. Black lives matter. They will always matter. And we are here today to show it,” said makeup artist Melissa Mock, who joined thousands of people during the show. a daytime demonstration in Miami.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walzs said he was mobilizing the 13,000-strong state national guard to deal with rioters who looted stores and torched Minneapolis-St. Paul sector.
All major highways to Minneapolis were closed on Saturday evening with military helicopters that flew over the area as the state prepared for more riots, arson and looting, residents claiming that much violence was perpetrated by strangers.
Earlier, people gathered peacefully on the streets of Minneapolis, chanting the name of Floyd and carrying brooms to help clean up the dozens of stores ransacked in the violence of the previous nights.
Some planted flowers outside the store where Floyd was arrested on Monday before his death in police custody was recorded in a horrible cell phone video seen around the world.
In Houston – where Floyd was born and raised – one of his old friends, Sam Osborne, said that as an African American, he feared for his life.
“I’m really messed up, they killed him. I wonder what could happen to me?” he explained to AFP.
The mayor of Houston announced at a press conference that the body of Floyd would be brought back to the city of Texas.
Texas, Colorado and Georgia have become the last states to activate the National Guard, bringing the number of states approving the deployment of soldiers to at least eight. The National Guard has also been deployed around the White House to help manage protests in the city.
“Black lives matter”
Protesters in Washington clashed with secret service agents outside the White House for a second consecutive night as Trump faces his presidency’s worst wave of civil unrest amid the pandemic of coronavirus.
The looting took place in Miami, where a curfew was also announced, while in New York, anger spread on social media following a video that appeared to show a NYPD police car driving protesters in Brooklyn.
In Los Angeles, reports have been of looting while the city’s mayor extended a curfew to cover the entire metropolitan area. Two large fires broke out and emergency services rushed to extinguish the flames.
Protests are expected to continue throughout the weekend, even after Chauvin, the now-dismissed Minneapolis police officer accused of Floyd’s death was arrested and charged with third degree murder on Friday.
Floyd’s family and many protesters want a tougher charge and have also demanded that the three officers who helped him also be charged.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
