Protesters Converge On White House For Second Straight Day
Source: US News
Police fired pepper spray at demonstrators near the White House and the D.
By ASHRAF KHALIL, KEVIN FREKING and MICHAEL BALSAMO, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Police fired pepper spray at demonstrators near the White House and the D.C. National Guard was called in as pockets of violence and vandalism erupted during a second straight night of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis
and President Donald Trump's response to it.
Hundreds of people converged on the White House and marched along the National Mall, chanting "Black Lives Matter," "I can't breathe" and "No justice, no peace." Protesters threw water bottles, traffic cones, scooters, even tear gas cans at police lines. They set fire to a car and a trash bin and smashed windows, including at Bay Atlantic University. "What are you doing? That's a school," one man yelled.
An American flag hanging at the Export-Import Bank was taken down, burned and replaced with a Black Lives Matter banner. The D.C. demonstration was one of several around the country responding to the death of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody.
Trump appeared to cheer on the tougher tactics being used by law enforcement to disperse protesters Saturday night. He commended National Guard troops deployed in Minneapolis, declaring "No games!" and he also said police in New York City "must be allowed to do their job!"...
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-05-30/crowds-protest-floyd-killing-and-trump-outside-white-house
- A demonstrator stands on U.S. Secret Service vehicle that has a broken windshield on Saturday, May 30, 2020, near the White House. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
- WTOP News: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called out claims made Saturday by President Donald Trump that many Secret Service agents were "just waiting for action" and ready to unleash "the most vicious dogs, and the most ominous weapons, I have ever seen" if protesters angered by his response to George Floyd's death had crossed the White House's security fence as "gross."
"I thought the president's remarks were gross, as I did when he said, 'if there's looting there will be shooting.' To make a reference to vicious dogs is now a subtle reminder to African Americans of segregationists who let dogs out on women, children and innocent people," Bowser said during a news conference.
Trump tweeted Friday amid unrest in Minneapolis that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." "What used to be heard in dog whistles, we now hear from a bullhorn." Bowser said...
Read More, https://wtop.com/dc/2020/05/protesters-in-d-c-converge-on-white-house-scuffle-with-secret-service-over-george-floyd-killing/
- Protesters and police confront each other close to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in DC, Saturday, May 30, 2020.
- Protesters gather near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building as Secret Service members block Pennsylvania Ave. near the White House on May 30. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)