Monday was a tough day for Washington DC, like dozens of other cities across the country, as the demonstrations and protests over the killing of George Floyd by a police officer marched on. In order to restore order President Donald Trump has decided to deploy “additional federal assets” in the nation’s capital.
Following Sunday’s outbreak of violent riots that included looting, arson, and vandalism over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police, a curfew was imposed in the US capital. In the wake of the riots US President Donald Trump decided to “mobilise all available federal resources – civilian and military – to stop the rioting and looting”.
During a speech at the White House, Trump “strongly recommended” that every governor deploy the National Guard in numbers sufficient to “dominate the streets”.
He also warned that if a city or a state refuses to do so, he will deploy the US military and “solve the problem for them”.
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Amid Trump’s announcement on maximizing the federal security presence in the city, military cars were spotted in Washington DC and police forces cordoned off areas in the US capital in order to prevent further escalation.
Police cordon off area in Washington DC as curfew in the capital begins at 7 p.m.#GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/Lcu6btw0jA
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 2, 2020
Social media users have shared videos of military forces gathering in Washington DC, protecting monuments, sites, and cordoning off areas engulfed by the previous day’s riots.
Military and law enforcement protecting the monuments. @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/oAPm516BhB
— Tim Barber (@TimBarberUSCP) June 2, 2020
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Mitary helicopters were flying low tonight.
These were taken by a friend in NW earlier. pic.twitter.com/RO3Cfa4yym
— Tim Barber (@TimBarberUSCP) June 2, 2020
A video of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs assessing the military presence in the city was also shared on social media.
The White House.
8:40pm. pic.twitter.com/7eLpEdVepK
— Tim Barber (@TimBarberUSCP) June 2, 2020
Riots and Looting Continue in US
Other regions of the country also faced a new day of protests. In New York, stores on Madison Avenue were looted, in a scene described by social media users as “very tough”, while in St Louis, protesters attacked local police, hurling firecrackers and bottles at law enforcement.
#BREAKING: #looting has started on Madison Avenue. At least one store hit. Very tense scene with huge @NYPD19Pct presence. #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/yugmc4xI1P
— Josh Einiger (@JoshEiniger7) June 2, 2020
#BREAKING – protesters launching firecrackers and bottles at police SLMPD HQ in #STL – the smoke in this video is from a firecracker pic.twitter.com/DeYlF9QpVx
— Jenna Barnes (@Jenna_Barnes) June 2, 2020
Law enforcement also showed up during a looting incident on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, as rioters broke into a Rite Aid store.
NOW: SUNSET PROTESTS#Looting taking place at Rite Aid in #hollywood on #sunset blvd #LosAngelesProtest #georgefloyd🖤 #TheGeorgeFloydProtestThread pic.twitter.com/OO6fOuXev4
— IT IS HEAVEN ☀️❤️🔥🌊💫🙏🤟🤙🔊👽🛸 (@camerongrey) June 2, 2020
Another video showed arson occurring near an apartment building in Van Nuys, California.
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1267645842669764608
The protests across the US were sparked by what the Hennepin County medical examiner on Moday determined was the homicide of George Floyd, an African American resident of Minneapolis, killed by police officer Derek Chauvin. As confirmed by the official autopsy results, it was asphyxia that caused his death due to Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly ten minutes.
Featured image: © Sputnik / Artur Gabdrahmanov
