Trump wants soldiers to control arson on road

Special Desk

The US president Donald Trump has said he would send American soldiers on to the streets to quell the worst unrest going on the roads and complexes, sparked by the killing of George Floyd.

Floyd’s brother Terrence has appealed protesters to find a peaceful way. George Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes despite cries from Floyd that he could not breathe.

Trump called himself the “law and order” president for the people of the US, and spoke as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who were demonstrating peacefully in a park in front of the White House.

Trump then strode across the cleared area to St John’s Episcopal church, where he posed for pictures holding a Bible, which he did not open.

The move was immediately panned by critics of the president as a publicity stunt.Reverend Mariann Budde, the bishop who oversees the church, told the Washington Post that she was “outraged” police had used tear gas to clear the path to allow Trump to use the historic building as a prop.

Kamala Harris, the California senator and possible running mate for Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, tweeted that Trump had tear-gassed peaceful protesters for a photo op.

Meanwhile, Muriel Bowser, Washington’s mayor, slammed the federal police for targeting peaceful protesters ahead of the 7pm curfew she had set. Before making his way to the church accompanied by several senior officials, including William Barr, the attorney-general, Trump said he was “ending the riots and lawlessness that has spread throughout our country”.

Trump told US governors to “dominate” the streets of their states with National Guard units and warned that he would send troops to take over if they did not comply. “These are not acts of peaceful protests. These are acts of domestic terror,” said Trump.

The president added that the nation had been “gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals and Antifa”, referring to the leftist anti-fascist movement. In addition to Washington, many other cities, including New York, faced curfews on Monday night as authorities braced for unrest.