Floyd: U.S. cities brace for more riots as Trump threatens greater force

Protests against police brutality and systemic racism were underway once again in the United States on Tuesday, setting the stage for potential fresh clashes a week after nationwide rallies ignited in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis.

Demonstrators marched through the streets of cities including Washington, New York, and Los Angeles.

In the nation’s capital, hundreds gathered in front of a newly erected fence that prevented them from entering a park outside the White House, which federal forces cleared using tear gas a day earlier to allow President Donald Trump to have a photo op in front of a church.

The federal government appeared set to crack down harder on the latest wave of protests in Washington.

“There will be even greater law enforcement resources and support in the region tonight,” Attorney General William Barr said on Tuesday.

Mostly peaceful demonstrations in previous days have sometimes descended into rioting and looting at night, causing destruction to property and hurting businesses.

Four police officers in St. Louis, Missouri, were injured by gunshots, as was an officer in Las Vegas, Nevada, during encounters with protesters overnight.

The exact circumstances remained unclear.

Injuries, arrests mount 

Protesters have also been injured and thousands arrested in cities across the country.

Trump has called on governors to “dominate” the protests and threatened to deploy the armed forces to crack down and end the unrest, while insisting he supports peaceful demonstrations.

“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 U.S. military and quickly solve the problem for them,” Trump said, as tear gas went off outside the White House on Monday.

Governors in New York, Massachusetts, Michigan and Illinois were among those who have rejected Trump’s push for a heavier hand, as the president seeks to make a show of force and bolster his status as a self-proclaimed leader of law and order.

The National Guard has been deployed in two dozen states, by governors, but largely in a back-up role.

Curfews have been imposed in cities in California, in New York, Washington, and other urban areas.

Opposition 

Joe Biden, the former vice president who is running against Trump in this November’s presidential election, slammed the incumbent, saying he was stoking divisions and turning the country into a “battlefield riven by old resentments and fresh fears.”

In a speech in Philadelphia, a city hit by sustained protests and violence, Biden vowed, that if elected president, he would enact civil rights reforms.

“I won’t traffic in fear and division. I won’t fan the flames of hate,” he said.

With the election moving closer on the horizon, Trump is trailing in some national polls, though analysts caution to not read too much into numbers at this stage.

There have been seven days of unrest in dozens of states, following the killing of a handcuffed black man, George Floyd.

A white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

An independent autopsy by the Floyd family said he died by asphyxiation and placed the blame directly on the police.

Chauvin was arrested, on third-degree murder charges, and all four officers involved in the incident in the state of Minnesota were fired.

Minnesota on Tuesday filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department, Governor Tim Walz said.

The midwestern state’s Department of Human Rights will investigate the practices of the police force over the last 10 years.

“Silence is complicity. Minnesotans can expect our administration to use every tool at our disposal to deconstruct generations of systemic racism in our state,” Walz said in a press release.

Traumatised family 

Floyd’s family is calling for the arrest of the other three former members of the Minneapolis police force.

READ ALSO: Trump fires two impeachment witnesses

A brother of the slain man has called for peaceful protests and condemned the looting.

Minnesota’s attorney general has warned he needs to move methodically if he wants to secure convictions.

Days of unrest there have begun to calm.

The killing of Floyd has again brought to the fore the issue of police violence and heavy-handed tactics used against African Americans.

The protests across the country have taken place under the “Black Lives Matter” banner.

Many are calling for more accountability for the police, who rarely get convicted of abuse of power, in part thanks to legal protections.

Many demonstrators have also slammed what they see as systemic racism and biases. (dpa/NAN)