Trump threatens to call in troops to end unrest

Washington, June 2

President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the military if the states fail to take necessary action to “dominate the streets” and “quell” the violent protests that have spread across the country over the custodial killing of African-American George Floyd.

During a hurriedly-convened address to the nation on Monday from the Rose Garden of the White House, Trump announced that he was dispatching “thousands and thousands” of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults, and the wanton destruction of property.

My administration committed to delivering justice to victim

These are not acts of peaceful protest. My administration is fully committed that, for George Floyd and his family, justice will be served. — Donald Trump, US President

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For about a week now, properties worth billions of dollars have been destroyed in the US, and rioters have damaged commercial centres, public places and looted shops and malls, in angry response to the killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old man, who was pinned to the ground in Minneapolis last week by a white police officer who knelt on his neck as he gasped for breath.

“Today, I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” Trump said.

“If a city or state refuses to take action that is necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, I will deploy the US military and quickly solve the problem for them,” he threatened.

Trump said the country, in the recent days, has been gripped by “professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa and others”.

“These are not acts of peaceful protest. These are acts of domestic terror,” he said. In his address, Trump also said all Americans were “rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death” of Floyd, and asserted that justice will be served. “I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our nation and that is exactly what I will do. My administration is fully committed that, for George and his family, justice will be served. He will not have died in vain,” he said. The white cop, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and will appear in court next week. — PTI

Five cops shot, Macy’s flagship store ransacked in NYC

Washington: At least five US police officers were hit by gunfire during violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody, police and media said. Retail and luxury stores in Manhattan’s popular shopping destinations Madison and Fifth Avenues, including Macy’s flagship store, were vandalised. Reuters/PTI

African-American’s autopsies indicate death as homicide

Washington: Two separate autopsies of George Floyd, the African-American man who died in police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis, have indicated that his death was a homicide, although they differed in details. Floyd’s family stated that “asphyxiation from sustained pressure was the cause” of the 46-year-old’s death. IANS