National Guard personnel is seen during a protest near Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. on Monday. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to order a military crackdown on once-in-a-generation violent protests gripping the United States, saying he was sending thousands of troops onto the streets of the capital and threatening to deploy soldiers to states unable to regain control.
President Trump threatens a military crackdown across the U.S. to quell mass protests. Follow our live updates here: https://t.co/8f7EFQVqWs pic.twitter.com/pn05kizrmD
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 2, 2020
“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.”
After being criticized for his silence on the worsening crisis, Trump struck a martial tone in a nationwide address from the White House garden, as police fired tear gas on peaceful protesters outside the fence.
The dramatic escalation came a week after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed when a white police officer knelt on his neck, leading to the worst civil unrest in decades in New York, Los Angeles and and dozens of other American cities.
"What happened in the city last night was a total disgrace," said Trump during the nationwide address as tear gas went off and crowds protested in the streets nearby.
Protestors are tear gassed as the police disperse them near the White House on Monday. Photo: AFP"I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and the wanton destruction of property."
Trump denounced "acts of domestic terror" and said "I want the organisers of this terror to be on notice that you will face severe criminal penalties and a lengthy sentences in jail," Trump said.
During his address, police could be heard using tear gas and stun grenades to clear protestors just outside the White House.
The security forces that moved against protesters at the White House included National Guard military police, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security police as well as District of Columbia police. The White House said it was clearing the area ahead of a curfew.
CORRECTION: WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT The police used stun grenades and horses to drive back White House protesters demonstrating against police brutality. (We fixed our headline to better reflect what is shown in the video. We are deleting our incorrect tweets.) pic.twitter.com/tNfKX7dUFv
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 2, 2020
Trump also called on state governors to "deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets" before heading on foot for a photo op at the riot-damaged St. John's, the two-century-old "church of the presidents" across from the White House.
He walked from the White House through the area that had been cleared for him to nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he clutched a Bible as he posed for pictures with his daughter, Ivanka, and US Attorney General William Barr.
US President Donald Trump holds up a Bible outside of St John's Episcopal church across Lafayette Park in Washington, DC on Monday. Photo: AFPThe photo op resulted in backlash from several corners.
"He's using the American military against the American people," tweeted Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
He's using the American military against the American people.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 2, 2020
He tear-gassed peaceful protesters and fired rubber bullets.
For a photo.
For our children, for the very soul of our country, we must defeat him. But I mean it when I say this: we can only do it together. https://t.co/G1yE67q9Nz
"He tear-gassed peaceful protesters and fired rubber bullets. For a photo. For our children, for the very soul of our country, we must defeat him," said Biden.
Washington's Episcopalian bishop, Marian Budde, said she was "outraged" at the church visit, which she said Trump did not have permission for.
The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church diocese in Washington DC, Michael Curry, was among those who criticised Trump’s use of the historic church for a photo opportunity.
“In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes,” he said on Twitter. The church suffered minor fire damage during protests on Monday night.
This evening, the President of the United States stood in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, lifted up a bible, and had pictures of himself taken. In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes.
— Presiding Bishop Michael Curry (@PB_Curry) June 2, 2020
Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders took to Twitter to say, "Trump just had peaceful demonstrators viciously attacked. No, Mr. President. This is not a dictatorship. This is the United States of America. Our citizens have a constitutional right to peacefully protest. It's called the First Amendment."
Trump just had peaceful demonstrators viciously attacked. No, Mr. President. This is not a dictatorship. This is the United States of America. Our citizens have a constitutional right to peacefully protest. It's called the First Amendment.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 2, 2020
Independent autopsy
Meanwhile on Monday, an independent autopsy ordered by Floyd’s family was released and found his death was homicide by “mechanical asphyxiation,” or physical force that interfered with his oxygen supply. The report says three officers contributed to his death.
Adam Neves, 6, holds a sign during a rally following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Boston, Massachusetts, June 1. Photo: Reuters
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later released autopsy findings that also called Floyd’s death homicide by asphyxiation. The county report said Floyd suffered cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by police and that he had arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.
One week after Floyd died in Minneapolis, an autopsy blamed his videotaped death squarely on a white police officer who pinned him down by the neck with his knee for nearly nine minutes as Floyd pleaded, "I can't breathe!"
"The evidence is consistent with mechanical asphyxia as the cause of death, and homicide as the manner of death," Aleccia Wilson, a University of Michigan expert who examined his body at the family's request, told a news conference.
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.
A protester is arrested near the White House on June 1, 2020. Photo: AFPFloyd’s death was the latest case of police brutality against black men caught on videotape and prompting an outcry over racism in US law enforcement.
Terrence Floyd, the victim’s brother, told a gathering he wanted people to get educated and vote rather than resort to violence and destruction. “Let’s do this another way,” he said.
Meanwhile, James Pool, a 31-year-old former Marine, said he is hopeful peaceful protests will make a difference as he marched past the Minnesota Governor’s Residence in St. Paul, the state capital.
“I want to see more community and this country come together and stop letting the powers that be divide us,” he said. “Because that is exactly what they have done. They want to keep us in fear of each other.”
Floyd's agonizing death was caught on bystander cell phone video that shows policeman Derek Chauvin pinning him down with his knee for nearly nine minutes, as the 46-year-old pleaded for his life with the haunting words: "I can't breathe!"
Floyd, 46, had been accused of trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit bill.
The incident has 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.
Protesters lie face down on the ground during a rally in Times Square in New York City. Photo: Reuters
Thousands of people have participated in the nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racism since Floyd's killing.
A man in wheelchair with his dog confronts a National Guard officer during a march in Los Angeles on June 1, 2020. Photo: AFPIt is the most widespread unrest in the United States since 1968, when cities went up in flames over the slaying of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
Thousands of protesters march against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in downtown Seattle, Washington, June 1. Photo: Reuters
Dozens of cities across the United States remain under curfews and the National Guard has been deployed in 23 states and Washington, DC.
Across America
As darkness fell hours after the president’s remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House, violence erupted for a seventh night. Demonstrators set fire to a strip mall in Los Angeles and looted stores in New York City.
Demonstrators pictured outside the White House. Photo: Reuters
Protesters hold their hands up in front of law enforcement personnel as demonstrators rally at the White House. Photo: Reuters
A protester throws a colored smoke bomb during a protest in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. June 1, 2020. Photo: ReutersA few hours after the Washington fracas, thousands of people marched through the streets of Brooklyn, shouting “justice now!” while cars drove alongside, some drivers honking in support.
Television images showed throngs smashing windows and looting luxury stores along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, one of the cities toniest shopping districts, before the city’s 11 p.m. curfew. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the curfew would be moved to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
People climb into a damaged store during a protest in Manhattan, New York. Photo: ReutersIn Los Angeles, where the National Guard were deployed at Hollywood landmarks such as the Dolby Theatre, some looting was also reported, though protests were largely peaceful.
"Deep down inside us, we've had enough," said 30-year-old Jessica Hubbert, a protester.
A woman wearing a protective face mask holds a sign during a rally and candlelight vigil for George Floyd, at Queens Park in Queens, New York, June 1, 2020. Photo: Reuters
In Hollywood, dozens of people were shown in television images looting a drug store after the front door was smashed. Windows were shattered at a nearby Starbucks and two restaurants before suspects scattered as police arrived.
A protestor grabs his bike as the police use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd gathered near the White House on June 1, 2020. Photo: AFP
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