Trump slams White House protesters as unrest grows
▶ Anger spills over coast to coast at deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police officers
US President Donald Trump has accused demonstrators at the White House of being professionally managed after thousands of people took to the streets across the US in response to the killing of a black man by a white police officer.
Protests erupted at the weekend, sparked by the killing of the unarmed George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis last Monday.
A video of the incident, in which white police officer Derek Chauvin can be seen kneeling on the neck of Floyd for almost nine minutes, stirred many to action and brought one of the worst nights of civil unrest in the US in years.
Demonstrations were held in cities such as New York, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose and Memphis.
On Friday, Mr Chauvin was charged with one count of third-degree murder and one count of negligent manslaughter.
“This case is now ready and we have charged it,” county prosecutor Mike Freeman said.
Minnesota’s governor yesterday called up more national guard troops and warned they would “decimate” rioters.
Governor Tim Walz said he was mobilising the entire 13,000-strong Minnesota National Guard to deal with rioters who looted shops and set fires in the Minneapolis-St Paul area, a move not taken since the Second World War.
“It will be a dangerous situation on the streets tonight,” he said.
Protesters who took their cause to Mr Trump’s residence, angered by his tweets and comments on the issue, clashed with secret service agents in heated scenes.
Mr Trump was in the White House during the protest that converged on a park across the street.
Demonstrators displayed signs with messages such as “Stop Killing Us” and called for justice for Floyd.
“These are ‘organised groups’ that have nothing to do with George Floyd. Sad,” the US president tweeted later.
Yesterday, Mr Trump tweeted “it’s Antifa and the Radical Left” in an apparent reference to the protesters.
Violent protests over the police custody death of an African-American man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, spread to dozens of cities across the United States at the weekend despite the arrest of an officer involved in the incident.
Shots were fired at police officers in Minneapolis as they tried to clear demonstrators who gathered in defiance of an 8pm curfew imposed after consecutive nights of violent demonstrations.
The incident occurred in the Fifth Precinct, but protesters gathered in several parts of the city, including the Lake Street neighbourhood, where a police station was burned the night before.
The Pentagon took the rare step of ordering the army to put military police units on standby to be sent to Minneapolis, sources told Associated Press.
The move followed President Donald Trump’s threat to send troops to the city if arson and looting continued.
Crowds gathered around the White House in Washington on Friday to protest against the death of George Floyd and the president’s response.
On Thursday, as violence broke out in Minneapolis, Mr Trump tweeted: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” He later said his comments had been misconstrued. “Frankly it means when there’s looting, people get shot and they die,” he said
Protesters threw bottles and other objects at officers wearing anti-riot gear behind barricades around the White House. Pepper spray was used to disperse the crowd, and police and protesters wrestled over the barricades.
Mr Trump accused the White House protesters of being “professionally managed” and only on the streets “to cause trouble”. He did not provide evidence to support the comments, which he made on Twitter on Saturday morning.
The renewed protests on Friday came after police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Floyd, 46, who was arrested on Monday on suspicion of using a counterfeit banknote.
Video footage of the arrest showed Mr Chauvin pinning Floyd’s neck down with his knee for several minutes, despite the man’s pleas that he could not breathe.
A peaceful demonstration in New York City spiralled into chaos as night fell, as protesters clashed with officers, destroyed police vehicles and set fires.
In Brooklyn, activists who had marched from Manhattan chanted insults at officers lined outside the Barclays Centre sports arena and pelted them with water bottles. Video posted to social media showed officers using batons and shoving protesters down as they took people into custody and cleared streets.
“We have a long night ahead of us in Brooklyn,” New York City mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted. “Our sole focus is de-escalating this situation and getting people home safe. There will be a full review of what happened tonight. We don’t ever want to see another night like this.”
Brian Kemp, the governor of Georgia, declared a state of emergency yesterday and mobilised 500 National Guardsmen “to protect people and property in Atlanta” after protests in the state capital turned violent on Friday.
Demonstrators smashed police cars and vandalised the CNN headquarters, spray-painting on the news channel’s logo outside and breaking windows. Some protesters set fire to a police car, shot at officers with air pistols and threw bricks, bottles and knives. At least three officers were hurt and there were arrests, a police spokesman said.
More than 1,000 protesters marched to the state capitol building from the Centennial Olympic Park, blocking traffic and an inter-state motorway.
The violence came despite pleas for non-violence from the city’s mayor and from Bernice King, the youngest daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
“The only way we get what we really want is through non-violence,” Ms King said. “Let’s do this the non-violent way to deal with the evil of our time.”
One person was killed in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday after someone in an SUV fired shots into a crowd of protesters near the city’s Greektown entertainment district, police said.
In Portland, Oregon, protesters broke into police headquarters on Friday night and lit a fire inside.
In Virginia’s capital, a police car was set on fire outside Richmond police headquarters, and a city transit spokeswoman said a bus set ablaze was “a total loss”, news outlets reported.
Protests elsewhere were more peaceful. In Colorado, a second day of protests passed peacefully as hundreds marched through central Denver to demand justice for Floyd.
Denver police had used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds on Thursday night, after parked cars were vandalised. Several people were arrested.
In Houston, Texas, hundreds gathered at City Hall for a protest organised by the group Black Lives Matter.
The crowd spilled on to Interstate 45’s entrance ramp near the central part of the city and raised slogans, “I can’t breathe,” and “No justice, no peace.”
President Donald Trump excoriated protesters who gathered near the White House, calling them troublemakers