Police fire tear gas, fires burn as Trump ponders next move
Washington: As tear gas and fires eased and Washington went to sleep, Donald Trump's inner circle debated whether the US President should do an Oval Office address to the nation.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across America for a sixth night, calling for justice in response to the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other black Americans who have died in police custody or who have been killed in racist attacks.
Police form a line on H Street as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Sunday, May 31, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officersCredit:Alex Brandon
The mainly peaceful demonstrations during the day were overshadowed by unrest at night that quickly ravaged parts of cities from Pennsylvania on the East Coast to California on the West Coast, with unconfirmed reports of an LA Police officer being shot. In Minnesota a fuel tanker drove into a crowd, sending protesters scattering. No-one was injured.
The White House was put in lockdown again during the protests. After being briefly moved to an underground bunker during Friday night's protests outside the White House, Trump spent the night again sheltered as violence raged nearby.
The fast moving events leave his presidency - and his bid for a second term in November - consumed by a backdrop of smouldering cities; 104,000 dead from COVID-19 and counting in a public health disaster he failed to take seriously until it was too late; and unemployment approaching Great Depression-levels.
The divided nation ended up across the street from the White House, where police fired tear gas and stun grenades into a crowd of more than 1000 chanting protesters.
They scattered, piling up road signs and plastic barriers to light a raging fire in a street. Some pulled an American flag from a nearby building and threw it into the blaze. Others added tree branches. A cinder block building housing bathrooms and a maintenance office in the park was engulfed in flames.
The entire Washington National Guard - about 1700 soldiers - was being called in to help control the protests, according to two Defence Department officials.
Advisers both inside and outside the White House on Sunday, US time, were urging the President to tone down his violent rhetoric, which many worry is escalating racial tensions and hurting him politically.
Jonathan Swan, from the US news website Axios, reported that the biggest source of internal concern was Trump's Friday tweet, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts".
But others believe the "law and order, tough guy rhetoric" works well with his supporters as long as it's laced with sympathy for "legitimate protesters and for those actually mourning Floyd's death".
In tweets on Sunday, Trump blamed anarchists and the media for fuelling violence. Attorney-General William Barr pointed a finger at "far-left extremist" groups. Police chiefs and politicians accused outsiders of coming in and causing the problems.
Curfews were imposed in Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, Washington, Los Angeles, Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, Denver, Santa Monica, California, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, San Jose, Salt Lake City and Cleveland for Sunday night. Several curfews were to last until Monday.
Protesters in Philadelphia hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, officials said, while masked crowds broke into upscale stores in a San Francisco suburb, fleeing with bags of goods.
Los Angeles Police said it would investigate after a police SUV was seen driving into protesters during Sunday's demonstrations (Monday AEST).
On video, the SUV could be seen accelerating into protesters and knocking two people to the ground. Those people could be seen getting up after being struck. Demonstrators then chased after the patrol car, which backed up and sped away.
In New York City, police arrested about 350 people and 30 officers suffered minor injuries during clashes.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said police conduct was being investigated, including widely shared videos showing a police vehicle lurching into a crowd of protesters who were pelting it with debris in Brooklyn.
De Blasio said he had not seen a separate video showing an officer pulling down the mask of a black protester to spray something in his face. Among those arrested for unlawful assembly the night before was de Blasio's 25-year-old daughter, Chiara, according to a New York Police Department source, who said she was issued a "desk appearance ticket" and released.
Meanwhile, Bogdan Vechirko, the man who drove a tanker truck into a crowd of protesters on a Minnesota interstate road on the sixth night of protest in that city, was charged with assault, according to records at the Hennepin County Jail.
At least 4100 people have been arrested over days of protests, according to a tally compiled by The Associated Press. Arrests ranged from looting and blocking highways to breaking curfew.
Yet thousands still marched peacefully, with some also calling for an end to the fires, vandalism and theft, saying it weakened calls for justice and reform.
"They keep killing our people," said Mahira Louis, 15, who marched with her mother and several hundred others through downtown Boston. "I'm so sick and tired of it."
National Guardsmen stand watch as protests over the death of George Floyd continued in Los Angeles. Credit:AP
The officer who pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck has been charged with murder, but protesters are demanding the other three officers at the scene be prosecuted. All four were fired.
"We're not done," said Darnella Wade, organiser for Black Lives Matter in neighbouring St Paul, Minnesota, where thousands gathered peacefully in front of the state Capitol. "They sent us the military, and we only asked them for arrests."
Los Angeles Police Department commander Cory Palka stands among several destroyed police cars.Credit:AP
Disgust over generations of racism in a country founded by slaveholders combined with a string of recent racially charged killings to stoke the anger. Adding to that was angst from months of lockdowns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately hurt communities of colour, not only in terms of infections but in job losses and economic stress.
The droves of people congregating for demonstrations threatened to trigger new outbreaks, a fact overshadowed by the boiling tensions.
Michael Jordan in a scene from 'The Last Dance' documentary.
The scale of the coast-to-coast protests rivalled the historic demonstrations of the civil rights and Vietnam War eras.
Notably, Jordan said that profound change must be made "or else" the only option was a change of political leadership.
"I am truly saddened, deeply pained and plain angry," Jordan said in a statement, released via social media platforms.
"I see and feel everyone's pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence towards people of colour in our country. We have had enough.
"I don't have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality."
AP, agencies, staff writers