Toomey ‘feels the anger’; Wolf backs peaceful protests

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey on Monday described the death of a black Minnesota man who was pinned at the neck by a white police officer as “sickening to watch,” as he defended most police officers as “honorable” and condemned the violence that erupted in Philadelphia and elsewhere over the weekend.

“I fully understand the anger that so many people feel. I felt that anger when I watched that video. I still feel that anger, and I fully support the right of people to peacefully protest and register their concerns,” Toomey said, adding that while “Americans have the right to peacefully protest, no one has a right to violently riot.”

“These acts must stop, and we need to support the law enforcement folks who are doing all that they can to help bring an end to this violence,” the Republican senator said.

Toomey spoke Monday during a news conference in Philadelphia, among a number of cities across the country where peaceful weekend protests shifted violently. There were more than 400 weekend arrests there, National Guard troops were deployed, and police fired tear gas as people broke into boarded storefronts.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also headed to Philadelphia on Monday, where he spoke with the mayor, police chief and community leaders, and surveyed damaged from the rioting.

“I think the protests are absolutely called for,” Wolf told reporters Monday afternoon, saying there’s “a lot of work to do” to address the systemic issues that prompted the protests. “What’s not called for is the violence that followed.”

The days of demonstrations, which prompted a 6 p.m. curfew Monday in Philadelphia, were triggered by the death last week of George Floyd, a black man who died after he was pinned at the neck by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was charged with third-degree murder.

In several cities, the protests, which stretched into a seventh day Monday, have turned destructive, including looting and mayhem, and fires in the historic park across from the White House.

Amid the unrest, President Donald Trump spent much of the weekend making increasingly inflammatory posts on social media, decrying the demonstrations and calling for law and order. During a call Monday with governors, Trump derided those state officials as “weak” and demanded they get tougher in their efforts to crack down on protesters.

Asked about the president’s rhetoric, Toomey replied that “it would be helpful if he would change the tone of his message.”

Later Monday in a brief Rose Garden appearance, Trump made his first public comments. He expressed sympathy for Floyd’s family, and said he would restore law and order, threatening to activate the military if needed to do so.

Addressing the circumstances of Floyd’s death, Toomey said he is “hopeful and confident there will be justice” when the officer stands trial. As he has said in the past, he added that the “vast majority” of police officers “do the right thing,” and that those who do not “need to be held accountable.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Washington correspondent Laura Olson can be reached at 202-780-9540 or lolson @mcall.com.