TERRENCE FLOYD VISITS THE SITE IN MINNEAPOLIS ON MONDAY WHERE HIS BROTHER, GEORGE FLOYD, WAS KILLED. HE CALLED FOR PEACE AMID PROTESTS, IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD, AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY.
Tells governors to get crack down on protesters
WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump said on Monday he was deploying thousands of heavily armed soldiers and law enforcement to stop violence in the U.S. 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 remarks at the White House Rose Garden as authorities dispersed protesters with tear gas just blocks away.
“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.”
Earlier, on a call to state governors, he said the riots were being “led by Antifa” and far-left anarchist groups who were “terrorizing the innocent and burning down buildings.” He vowed to designate Antifa a terrorist organization.
“These are terrorists ... They’re Antifa and they’re the radical left,” Trump told governors in the call that was leaked to the media.
“You have to dominate,” he said. “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.”
Tim Walz, the Democrat governor of Minnesota, where protests began after the death of George Floyd in police custody, said up to 80 per cent of those involved had come from outside the state.
“Bad actors continue to infiltrate the rightful protests of George Floyd’s murder,” Walz said.
John Miller, the deputy commissioner of New York police, said extremist groups had launched a well-planned campaign, which included scouts on bicycles, and establishing supply routes for circulating gasoline to set fires. They had also mobilized their own medics, used encrypted messaging and are raising bail for those arrested.
“They prepared to commit property damage, directed people who were following them that this should be done selectively, and only in wealthier areas, or at highend stores run by corporate entities,” said Miller.
However, determining Antifa’s responsibility for the violence is difficult. The amorphous group does not have an official leader or base. Its name is a contraction of “anti-fascist.”
Its members have been present at many U.S. demonstrations in recent years, including at Charlottesville in August 2017, when they protested against white nationalists. The protests echoed in Canada over the weekend, including in one largely peaceful rally involving thousands of demonstrators in Montreal Sunday that later turned violent with looting and nearly a dozen arrests.
Speaking in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau condemned those who “took advantage of these peaceful protests to do significant damage to communities and stores as we saw in Montreal,” saying they did not represent the majority.
The prime minister said many racialized Canadians still face discrimination and live in fear, saying: “As a country, we can’t pretend that racism doesn’t exist here.”
Trudeau did not indicate that his government is considering any new actions or measures to address the problem.
The wave of anger at the death of Floyd, a black American, after having his neck pinned to the ground by the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer shows no sign of fading. Monday it emerged that an autopsy commissioned for Floyd’s family found that he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression.
The doctors also said Floyd, 46, had no underlying medical conditions.
That contradicts the initial findings of the official autopsy by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. It said there was no evidence of “traumatic” strangulation and also said coronary artery disease and hypertension also likely contributed to his death.
Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Floyd’s family, said the family wants first-degree murder charges lodged against all four officers who were at the scene — and they want the violent protests that has wracked the United States to end.
“George died because he needed a breath, a breath of air,” Crump said. “I implore you all to join his family in taking a breath — taking a breath for justice, taking a breath for peace, taking a breath for our country and more importantly taking a breath for George.”
On Monday, dozens of people paid their respects to Floyd at the scene outside the Cup Foods in Minneapolis where he died. Visitors left flowers and signs honouring Floyd on the pavement. A little girl wrote, “I’ll fight with you,” in aqua blue chalk in the road.
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.
The Minneapolis police chief also visited the site and took a knee. He later said the three officers present with Derek Chauvin, the policeman now charged with Floyd’s third-degree murder, were also “complicit” in their silence.