Declan Lynch
National Guard called out to protect cities as furious reaction spreads across America in wake of the death in custody of George Floyd, writes Rozina Sabur in Minneapolis
America on the edge of the abyss
THE governor of the US state of Georgia has declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard as violence flared in Atlanta and other American cities following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
In a widely viewed video, a white police officer can be seen pressing a knee into the neck of Mr Floyd, who was black, while taking him into custody in Minneapolis.
After another night of watching fires burn and businesses ransacked, Minnesota’s governor Tim Walz said he is moving to activate more than 1,000 extra national guard troops, and is considering federal help.
Again, the issue of race is splitting America. Last night a pickup truck drove through an intersection where protesters were demonstrating in Tallahassee, Florida, causing people to run screaming out of the way as the vehicle stopped and started — and at one point had a person on its hood, according to witnesses and video posted on social media.
The driver was taken into custody after hitting the crowd at a low rate of speed and no one was seriously injured.
In Washington DC a crowd grew outside the White House and chanted curses at US president Donald Trump. Some protesters tried to push through barriers set up by the US secret service along Pennsylvania Avenue, and threw bottles and other objects at officers wearing riot gear, who responded with pepper spray.
More than 30 American cities saw anti-police brutality protests erupt this weekend, with officers being overwhelmed in places and two people dying as fury over the death of George Floyd continued to spread. In New York and Atlanta, police cars were set on fire.
While some demonstrations were peaceful, others saw heated stand-offs with police.
In Minneapolis, the city where Mr Floyd, a black American, died after a white police officer pinned him to the ground as he pleaded “I can’t breath”, buildings were set on fire and looting took place as a 8pm curfew was ignored. Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, admitted law enforcement in the city could not cope.
“There’s simply more of them than us,” Mr Walz said yesterday, announcing full mobilisation of the state’s National Guard for the first time in history.
Gunfire broke out in some places. In Oakland,
California, two Federal Protective Services officers guarding a government building were shot when a gunman opened fire from a vehicle. One died from the injuries.
In Detroit, a 19-yearold was killed when shots were fired from a car into a crowd of protesters who had gathered downtown. Earlier in the night, a person had been arrested after trying to run over an officer. The protests were not confined to one region of America, with people taking to the streets in cities across the country.
The anger has exposed the racial tensions in US cities. It was sparked by shocking footage of Mr Floyd’s arrest, with a white officer putting a knee on his neck as he shouted for help. The authorities in
Minneapolis had hoped that the arrest of the former officer, Derek Chauvin, who was charged with murder on Friday, and the announcement of a curfew would avoid another night of violence in the city. They were wrong.
Protesters again took to the streets. Buildings, including a bank, a petrol station and a post office, were set alight. Gunfire was heard near a police precinct.
Walz, the state’s governor, claimed domestic terrorism was fuelling some protests and admitted yesterday morning that the authorities had been overwhelmed in the city, with “absolute chaos” ensuing.
Last Friday night also saw the first demonstrations in the nation’s capital, with hundreds of protesters marching on the White House, which briefly went into lockdown when the crowd first arrived.
But things turned uglier when a smaller group returned after midnight. More than 70 police officers with plastic shields and helmets formed a defensive line outside the property, around 100 metres away. Mr Trump was present inside throughout.
Protesters chanted “I can’t breathe” and “f*** Trump”. There were frequent clashes of violence, with protesters ripping away barricades and — at one point — a police shield as officers used mace to clear the crowds, who eventually dispersed after 3am.
One 19-year-old AfricanAmerican protesting outside the White House described his anger at seeing the video of Mr Floyd’s arrest.
“Watching him beg for his life, watching his life drain out of his eyes...Every single video that comes out takes another piece of the soul,” he said.
Elsewhere, the clashes at times saw reporters targeted. In Louisville, Kentucky, footage of a policeman aiming at a reporting crew and firing pepper balls as they broadcast live went viral.
In Atlanta, Georgia, the headquarters of cable news channel CNN became a focus of anger, with its front window smashed.