On Friday night, US President Donald Trump was reportedly escorted to a special bunker after riots, post the George Floyd case, had spread to outside of the White House in Washington, DC. Protestors had gathered outside the Presidential Estate on Friday night and clashes took place between the rioters and the President’s Secret Service. Reportedly, the security forces had to take Trump to the secret bunker that had earlier been used for the safety of the President of the country during terrorist attacks.
The demonstrators hurled abuses at the US President and also resorted to pelting bottles and bricks. According to New York Times, the protesters had set off fireworks and set a car ablaze. Even though officials conceded that there was no danger, yet the family members of the US President were intimidated by the violent protests. While the protest was peaceful during the day, it took a violent turn by the night. The rioters surged forward against the lines of the riot police to seize control of the Lafayette Square near White House.
While the protests surged outside, the US President was briefly taken to the bunker beneath the White House, media reports have claimed.
On Saturday, Donald Trump had praised the Secret Service for their professionalism and for allowing the protesters to scream and rant while effectively. He appreciated them for stopping rogue protesters. The US President has been under fierce criticism from the Opposition and the media for his supposed inflammatory tweets and absence of a televised address to the nation in times of crisis.
….got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn’t know what hit them. The front line was replaced with fresh agents, like magic. Big crowd, professionally organized, but nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020
Warning the violent protesters, he said, “If they had (breached the fence), they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen.” Hailing the resistance put up by the Secret Service against the frenzied mob as ‘good practice’, Donald Trump lambasted the DC Mayor Muriel Bowser for his inability to send the police to contain the situation and safeguard the White House.
….good practice.” As you saw last night, they were very cool & very professional. Never let it get out of hand. Thank you! On the bad side, the D.C. Mayor, @MurielBowser, who is always looking for money & help, wouldn’t let the D.C. Police get involved. “Not their job.” Nice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020
The Death of George Floyd
A series of violent protests had sparked off in the country, following the extra-judicial murder of a 46-year-old African American man, George Floyd by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday. Despite the victim complaining about not being able to breathe, coupled with verbal protest from onlookers, Chauvin knelt on the former’s neck for 7 long minutes until his body became unresponsive.
Surveillance footage showed that the victim did not resist arrest while he was handcuffed, contrary to the claims of the police. A shopkeeper had called the cops on Floyd for allegedly trying to pass a ‘potential counterfeit bill’. On being taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, he was pronounced dead.
Violence in the United States
On May 26, hundreds of protestors hit the streets to protest against the killing of George Floyd. The demonstration continued outside the nearby police precinct. Soon, the protest took a violent turn. On Wednesday night, Police cars were vandalised and pelted with rocks. To pacify the situation, the cops resorted to firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the frenzied mob. The mob also breached the security and reached for the police precinct in the neighbourhood where Floyd died. The building was set of fire by the unruly mob, amidst slogans demanding justice for the victim.
On Saturday, rioters had also desecrated the 142-year old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan in New York, fin the aftermath of the George Floyd Case. The walls were defaced with words such as ‘F*ck’, ‘BLM (Black Lives Matter)’, NJNP (No Justice No Peace) that were written in black letters.
