Authorities swamped by protests

Protesters converge on White House

FIRES burnt unchecked and thousands of people protesting the death of George Floyd in police custody ignored a curfew, as unrest overwhelmed the authorities for another night in Minneapolis, and the governor acknowledged yesterday, that he did not have enough manpower to contain the chaos.

The new round of tumult – which has also spread to other cities – came despite Minnesota Governor Tim Walz promising on Friday to show a more forceful response.

But by yesterday morning, Walz said he was mobilising more than 1000 more national guard members and was considering the offer of federal military police.

US President Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets ridiculing people who protested outside the White House and praising the Secret Service who used shields and pepper spray to push them back. Hundreds gathered to protest against the killing of Floyd and Trump’s response.

The president tweeted yesterday as he watched from inside the White House as officers “let the ‘protesters’ scream and rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone … got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn’t know what hit them.”

Trump said if the protesters had managed to breach the White House fence, “they would ... have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen”.

The Pentagon ordered the army yesterday to put military police units on alert to go to the city on short notice at Trump’s request, according to three people with direct knowledge of the orders who did not want their names used because they were not authorised to discuss the preparations.

The rare step came as the violence spread to other cities. In Detroit, a man shot dead, police cars battered in Atlanta and skirmishes with the police in New York City.

Criminal charges filed on Friday against the officer who held his knee for about nine minutes on the neck of Floyd, who was handcuffed at the time, did nothing to stem the anger.

Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Floyd was arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a store.

Chauvin, who was fired along with three other officers who were at the scene, faces more than 12 years in prison if convicted of murder.

Meanwhile, ABC News reported that Chauvin’s wife is now filing for divorce, according to her attorneys.