New York among ‘anarchist’ cities facing funding cuts

THE Trump administration has designated three US cities, including New York, as “anarchist jurisdictions” and threatened to cut off their funding for indulging recent race equality protests.

The US department of justice said New York, Portland and Seattle had “permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities,” in a statement released yesterday.

The highly unusual move comes after President Donald Trump, who has made law and order a central plank of his reelection campaign, issued a memo ordering financial retribution against cities that have been slashing their police budgets during crime waves, or tolerating violent protests sparked by the May killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police.

The president warned the cities’ Democrat mayors on Sept 2 that he was “putting them on notice”.

The order gives the director of the US office of management and budget 30 days to issue guidance to federal agencies on restricting eligibility for federal grants for the cities on the justice department’s list.

The department criticised New York City council’s decision to cut $1billion (£750m) from the NY police budget at a time when the city faced “increased unrest, gun violence and property damage”.

It quoted a 170 per cent increase in the number of shootings this summer compared to 2019.