Late Floyd
More than 75 cities have seen protests over what happened to George Floyd. Streets that only days ago were deserted because of the coronavirus pandemic have filled with demonstrators marching shoulder to shoulder.
Protests kicked off for another evening on Monday and more than 40 cities have imposed or extended their curfews.
The protests began after a video showed Mr Floyd, 46, being arrested in Minneapolis on 25 May and a white police officer continuing to kneel on his neck even after he pleaded that he could not breathe.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and will appear in court next week. Three other police officers have been fired.
President Trump called on cities and states to deploy the National Guard, the reserve military force that can be called on to intervene in domestic emergencies, “in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets”. About 16,000 of its troops have been deployed so far.
Mr Trump added: “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary… then I’ll deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
In order to take that step, the president would have to invoke the Insurrection Act, which in some circumstances first requires a request from state governors for him to do so.
This law was last invoked in 1992 during riots in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four police officers charged with assaulting black motorist Rodney King.
Mr Trump’s warning was met with swift criticism from senior Democrats. Joe Biden, the party’s presumptive presidential candidate, said Mr Trump “[was] using the American military against the American people”.
Thousands of people marched in New York, just before the late-night curfew came into effect. Police made multiple arrests amid incidents of violence and shops being ransacked in Manhattan.
Smaller protests took place in other cities including Los Angeles and Oakland.
In Chicago, two people were reported killed amid unrest although the circumstances are unclear.
Elsewhere, the chief of Louisville Police in Kentucky was fired after police and National Guard shot into a crowd on Sunday night, killing the owner of a nearby business.
The Floyd case has reignited deep-seated anger over police killings of black Americans and racism. It follows the high-profile cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York and others that have driven the Black Lives Matter movement. BBC
Abacha has reincarnated in Donald Trump who has declared himself as ‘Your President of Law and Order ‘ to Americans.
The law will overturn peaceful protest with the military.!!!!!
I see Abacha reincarnated in America.
Bode Sowande. 2nd June 2020.