Washington: U.S. cities are assessing the aftermath of another night of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. Peaceful protests against police brutality and systemic racism once again turned destructive overnight, with tensions flaring between law enforcement and demonstrators.
State and local officials are ramping up efforts to ease the unrest, adding to police forces and imposing earlier curfews on major cities. New York City, for one, has already announced its curfew Tuesday night will start three hours earlier than the curfew set for Monday. Still, President Donald Trump is calling for harsher government reaction, threatening late Monday to deploy the U.S. military to establish control in cities.
President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military if states and cities failed to quell the demonstrations.
“I am mobilizing all federal and local resources, civilian and military, to protect the rights of law abiding Americans,” Trump said during a hastily arranged address at the White House.
“Today I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming presence until the violence is quelled,” Trump said.
“If a city or state refuses to take the actions 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,” said the president.
