Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse peaceful protesters near the White House.
Washington, United States:
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday to disperse peaceful protesters near the White House as US President Donald Trump vowed a show of force to end violent protests against the death of a man black in custody.
Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst said law enforcement, including mounted officers, had displaced protesters in Lafayette Park, opposite the White House.
At about the same time, Trump spoke at the Rose Garden and promised to end the unrest in major cities across the country “now,” saying that he would deploy the military if state governors refused to call. the National Guard. “Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming presence of law enforcement until the violence is quelled,” said Trump. “If a city or state refuses to take the necessary steps to defend the lives and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly resolve the matter for them.” [L1N2DE2KQ]
While police action against protesters gave him a safe passage, Trump walked from the White House to the nearby Episcopal Church of St. John with officials, including the US Attorney General William Barr, where they posed for photos while the president was brandishing a Bible.
Marches and rallies against police violence, which became violent every night last night over the past week, erupted following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died in police custody in Minneapolis after to have been pinned under a white officer. knee for almost nine minutes.
A second autopsy ordered by Floyd’s family and released on Monday revealed that his death was a “mechanical asphyxiation” homicide, which means that physical force interfered with his oxygen supply. The report indicates that three officers contributed to the death of Floyd.
Hennepin County medical examiner released details of his autopsy findings on Monday, which also said that Floyd’s death was a homicide caused by asphyxiation. The county report added that Floyd had suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest while detained by police and had arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl poisoning and recent use of methamphetamine.
The new discoveries came after Trump spoke to the governors earlier today.
“You have to dominate,” he told them in a private call obtained by Reuters. “If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time – they’re going to crush you, you’re going to look like a bunch of assholes.”
Trump has said the federal government will “very firmly” crack down on violence. National Guard troops were deployed near the White House early Monday evening.
Dozens of cities across the United States remain under curfew at levels not seen since the riots that erupted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. The National Guard deployed to 23 states and to Washington, DC
One person was killed in Louisville, Kentucky, on the night that police and National Guard troops responded by trying to disperse a crowd. Chicago police responded to some 10,000 looting calls, said Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
The unrest, which erupted as the country eased blockages to stop the spread of the coronavirus, began with peaceful protests against the death of Floyd.
Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old licensed officer since, has been arrested and charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
On Monday, dozens of people paid tribute to Floyd outside Cup Foods, the place of his death. Visitors left flowers and signs in honor of Floyd. A little girl wrote, “I’m going to fight you,” in aqua blue chalk on the road.
“It’s therapeutic. My heart was very heavy this morning, so I went down very early and when I got here, the heaviness lifted,” said Diana Jones, 40, a mother of four. “Here, let me know that everything is going to be fine.”
Terrence Floyd, the victim’s brother, said at the rally that he wanted people to be educated, to vote and not to destroy their own communities. “Let’s do it another way,” he said.
Floyd’s death was the last to cause an outcry against racism in law enforcement. He has rekindled outrage in a politically and racially divided country that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with African Americans accounting for a disproportionately high number of cases.
The United States Department of Justice has ordered the Bureau of Prisons to send riot teams to Miami and Washington, D.C., to help manage the protests, a department official told reporters.
Departmental investigators are interviewing people arrested during protests who may face federal charges for offenses such as crossing state borders to incite violence, the official said.
Many cities affected by the unrest allow the reopening of certain businesses after more than two months of residence orders to stem a pandemic that has killed more than 104,000 people and left 40 million others unemployed.
Trump condemned the murder of Floyd and promised justice, but described the protesters as “thugs”.
Critics accuse the Republican president, who is seeking re-election in November, of having fueled conflict and racial tension when he should unite the nation and tackle the underlying problems.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden met with black community leaders in a church and said he would establish a police watchdog in his first 100 days at the White House if he were elected.
