Minneapolis experiences third night of violence after death of black man at the hands of white police officer.
Most of the recent unrest in Minnesota's largest city went unchecked Thursday night. National Guard troops, called in earlier by the governor, remained low-key.
Reuters - A third night of racially motivated arson, looting, and vandalism plagued the U.S. city of Minneapolis, where protesters vented their anger over the death of an unarmed Black man, a victim of a white police officer who knelt on his neck on the ground after an arrest.
Most of the recent unrest in Minnesota's largest city went unchecked Thursday night, as the mayor ordered a tactical withdrawal of police from a precinct that had been set on fire.
National Guard troops, called up earlier by the governor, remained low-key. Tim Walz had ordered them to help maintain peace after two nights of unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd on Monday.
In a late-night tweet, US President Donald Trump said he would send in the National Guard to "do the job right" if the "weak" mayor failed to restore order, implying that lethal force might be necessary.
"Any difficulty and we will take control, but when the looting starts, the shooting starts," Trump wrote.
The arrest of Floyd, 46, was captured on video by an observer and recorded on a cell phone; the video went viral and shows a police officer pressing his knee into Floyd's neck, who groans and says, "Please, I can't breathe."
Four police officers involved in the arrest of Floyd, who was accused of trying to pass counterfeit bills at a corner store, were fired on Tuesday, but the unrest continued.
Protests took place on Wednesday in Los Angeles and on Thursday in Denver, and traffic on the streets of both cities was disrupted. In Phoenix, protesters confronted riot police in front of City Hall, and a demonstration was held at the Arizona State Capitol.
The disturbances that occurred Thursday night in Minneapolis also spread to the neighboring city of St. Paul, the state capital, where fires and vandalism took place.
In contrast to Wednesday night, when rock-throwing protesters clashed with riot police, Minneapolis law enforcement was largely absent from the epicenter of Thursday's unrest, the 3rd precinct.
In a press conference this Friday morning, Mayor Jacob Frey defended his decision to evacuate the police station due to "imminent threats to both police officers and the public."
(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago, Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Nathan Lane in Wilton, Connecticut, Keith Coffman in Denver, David Schwartz in Phoenix, Maria Caspani in New York and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles)