USA: violent police racist crime protests spread

Paula Lugones

05/30/2020 - 21:10

• Clarín.com
• World

The tension and fury was palpable this Saturday in front of the White House, with nervous and uniformed Secret Service agents who formed barricades and with their shields pushed people back. The crowd bellowed at what has become a rallying cry these days: "I can´t breathe", the last words heard from George Floyd, the African American who died while being crushed by a white cop fiercely neck with knee in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

There were not only protests in Washington. The outraged marches over that murder, racism and police brutality in the United States quickly spread from Minneapolis, where fires and looting were seen on Friday, to all corners of the country: Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Newark , Atlanta, Baltimore, Miami, Detroit and the main cities this Saturday saw protests where at least 2 people were killed, dozens of agents and protesters injured, hundreds arrested, cars burned, windows broken and a climate that seems that this will not subside. Weekend.

The city of Los Angeles was one of the strongest centers. There, between 400 and 500 detainees were reported during riots after the protests and dozens of wounded. In Detroit, a 19-year-old man was killed, and in Oakland a federal agent apparently died under the bullets of a colleague. In New York, nearly 200 were arrested, with more than 40 vandalized patrolmen and two trucks, in Brooklyn, damaged by Molotov bombs. In Chicago there were more than 100 arrests.

Violent crashes in Atlanta. (Reuters)

In this heated environment, President Donald Trump offered the Minnesota Governor to send the military to control the riots. "We have our army ready, willing and capable, if they ever want to call our army," said the president as he left the White House to go to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to attend the second attempt to launch the SpaceX rocket. "We can have troops on the ground very quickly," he said. But Democratic Governor Tim Walz rejected this idea. The National Guard is currently deployed there.

Active duty forces are normally prohibited from participating in national law enforcement, but the Insurrection Act of 1807 allows a legislature or governor to request assistance in the event of civil unrest.

Then, from a NASA lectern, Trump noted that “George Floyd's memory is being dishonored by vandals, looters and anarchists. The violence and vandalism is led by Antifa and other radical left-wing groups, who are terrorizing the innocent. "

Trump added that there are protesters who had to be "taught" that they "cannot do that," referring to violent protests and looters. "They are hurting businesses (especially African American small businesses), homes and the community of good and hard-working residents of Minneapolis who want peace, equality and to support their families," added the head of the White House. In a controversial tweet on Friday, he had called them "thugs" and called for looters to be repelled with bullets.

The Justice Minister of the United States, William Barr, denounced that "radical groups and agitators from abroad are taking advantage of the situation to pursue their violent agenda" and stressed that there were people from other states. "It is a federal crime to cross the borders between the states or to use the interstate infrastructure to incite or participate in violent disturbances," he warned.

The fury was unleashed after the death of 48-year-old George Floyd on Monday, which was broadcast live on Facebook by a pedestrian. In the footage, which went viral, Floyd can be seen lying on the floor, saying he can't breathe while white agent Derek Chauvin pinned him to his neck with his knee for about 9 minutes. Floyd slowly stops talking and moving, but the cop kept crushing him. He passed away soon after in the hospital.

The police autopsy report said he died not from suffocation but from pressure on the policeman's knee, coupled with some condition of previous illness and probable intoxication. Floyd's attorneys requested an independent autopsy.

Agents reportedly arrested him because he allegedly matched the description of a man who had paid for something at a supermarket with a fake $ 20 bill. Chauvin, and three other agents who were in the operation, were fired from the Police, who promised that there will be an investigation. It was only after the violent protests that Chauvin was arrested and charged with murder.

More and more celebrities are showing their outrage at this crime these days, including Beyonce, Madonna, LeBron James, Kylian Mbappé, Billie Eilish, Oprah Winfrey, Mia Farrow, Cardi B, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Jamie Foxx, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong'o, Ava DuVernay, among others.