Trump deploys 'heavily armed soldiers' to quell protest violence after George Floyd's death

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U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a Bible during a photo opportunity in front of St. John's Episcopal Church in the midst of ongoing protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, outside the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2020.

Washington, United States - Trump said a 7 p.m. ET curfew in Washington would be strictly enforced after violence, looting and some fires were set on Sunday night, which he called a "disgrace".

By Reuters, IANS

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Published: Tue 2 Jun 2020, 5:19 AM

Last updated: Tue 2 Jun 2020, 10:26 AM

President Donald Trump said on Monday he was deploying thousands of heavily armed soldiers and law enforcement to halt violence in the US capital and vowed to do the same in other cities if mayors and governors fail to regain control of the streets.
"Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled," Trump said in the White House Rose Garden as authorities dispersed a peaceful protest with tear gas and rubber bullets blocks away, witnesses 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."

Trump said a 7 p.m. ET curfew in Washington would be strictly enforced after violence, looting and some fires were set on Sunday night, which he called a "disgrace".
As Trump spoke, more blasts from stun grenades could be heard as police on horseback pushed protesters further away from Lafayette Square, a park across from the White House.
After his brief remarks, Trump walked out of the White House - surrounded by dozens of security personnel - across Lafayette Square, to St. John's Episcopal Church, which was damaged by fire amid protests on Sunday night.
He stopped in front of boarded-up windows at the yellow church, where many presidents have attended services, along with several members of his administration, including Attorney General William Barr, national security Adviser Robert O'Brien and other top aides.
As an acrid smell still hung in the air, Trump held up a Bible for cameras before walking back to the White House, but took no questions from reporters.
The president said in his White House remarks that he was mobilising all civilian and military resources "to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights" - a reference to the U.S. constitutional protections for gun ownership.
Organisers of the "terror" will face severe criminal penalties and lengthy sentences in jail, he said, mentioning Antifa.

"As we speak, 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."

He said, "We are ending the riots and lawlessness that have spread throughout the country."

"All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd," says Trump, promising "he will not have died in vain".

But Trump says that Floyd's memory must not be "drowned out by an angry mob".
"We cannot allow the righteous cries of peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an angry mob," Trump said, adding that the nation was gripped by "professional anarchists."
Anti-police brutality marches and rallies, which have turned violent after dark each night over the last week, erupted over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died in Minneapolis police custody after being pinned beneath a white officer's knee for nearly nine minutes.
Earlier on Monday, Trump told governors during a phone call that they were "weak" and were being laughed at by the world because of their response to protests.
"Healing not hatred. Justice not chaos. This is our mission and we will succeed 100 percent. We will succeed. Our country always wins," Trump continues.
"If malice or violence reigns then none of us are free," he says, adding that America's "best days lie ahead".
"These are not acts of peaceful protest," says Trump. "These are acts of domestic terror."

"The destruction of innocent life and the spilling of innocent blood is an offence to humanity and a crime against God."

With Washington DC's curfew officially in place, Trump crossed Lafayette Square park outside the White House on foot to visit the nearby St John's Church.
A second autopsy ordered by Floyd's family and released on Monday found that his death was a homicide by "mechanical asphyxiation," meaning some physical force interfered with his oxygen supply. The report says three officers contributed to Floyd's death.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner on Monday released details of its autopsy findings that also said Floyd's death was a homicide caused by asphyxiation. The county report added that Floyd suffered cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by police and that he had arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.
The new findings emerged after Trump spoke to the governors earlier in the day.
"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 run over you, you're going to look like a bunch of jerks."
Trump said the federal government was going to clamp down "very strong" on the violence. National Guard troops were deployed near the White House early Monday evening.
Dozens of cities across the United States remain under curfews at levels not seen since riots that broke out following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The National Guard deployed in 23 states and Washington, D.C.
One person was killed in Louisville, Kentucky, overnight where police and National Guard troops returned fire while trying to disperse a crowd. Police in Chicago fielded some 10,000 calls for looting, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
The unrest, which erupted as the country was easing sweeping lockdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus, began with peaceful protests over Floyd's death.
Derek Chauvin, a since-fired 44-year-old officer, has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
On Monday, dozens of people paid their respects to Floyd outside Cup Foods, the scene of his death. Visitors left flowers and signs honoring Floyd. A little girl wrote, "I'll fight with you," in aqua blue chalk in the road.
"This is therapeutic. My heart was real heavy this morning so I came down extra early and when I got here, the heaviness lifted," said Diana Jones, 40, the mother of four children. "This right here let's me know that things are going to be OK."
Terrence Floyd, the victim's brother, told the gathering he wanted people to get educated, vote and not destroy their own communities. "Let's do this another way," he said.
Floyd's death was the latest to prompt an outcry over racism in law enforcement. It reignited outrage across 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 U.S. Justice Department has directed the Bureau of Prisons to send riot-control teams to Miami and Washington, D.C., to help manage the protests, a department official told reporters.
Department investigators are interviewing people arrested during protests who might face federal charges for such offenses as crossing state lines to incite violence, the official said.
Many cities affected by the unrest are allowing some businesses to reopen after more than two months of stay-at-home orders to stem a pandemic that has killed more than 104,000 people and left 40 million others jobless.
Trump has condemned the killing of Floyd and promised justice but has described protesters as "thugs."
Critics accuse the Republican president, who is seeking re-election in November, of stoking conflict and racial tension when he should be uniting the nation and addressing underlying issues.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden met with black community leaders in a church and said he would create a police oversight board within his first 100 days in the White House if elected.

Law enforcement officers stand guard as demonstrators take part in a rally near the White House against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2020.
Law enforcement officers stand guard as demonstrators take part in a rally near the White House against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2020.

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