Several American cities have witnessed a curfew, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, in an attempt to stop the violent protests that erupted across the United States, while army units were placed on standby.
A night curfew was imposed in Kentucky, including in Louisville, where the country is witnessing protests and riots after the killing of George Floyd, an African American, after he was thrown to the ground and held for several minutes while he pressed his knee to his neck to breathe.
The Pentagon said it placed the Army units on standby in four hours, in anticipation of a request from the Minnesota Governor.
It was not clear when was the last time that the US military set a timeframe with this palace for the possibility of summoning its forces, as it is something that could be presented to him in emergency situations such as natural disasters.
"At this time, there is no request from the Minnesota Governor for Army forces to support the Minnesota National Guard or state law enforcement forces," the Pentagon said in a statement.
The Minnesota Governor ordered the deployment of additional National Guard troops, calling for the utmost strictness with what he described as "rioters" of protesters.
Tim Falls said he had ordered a general mobilization of the state's 13,000 National Guard personnel, "to curb the rioters who committed looting and set fire to the St. Paul area of Minneapolis," in an unprecedented step since World War II.
For his part, US President Donald Trump condemned the riots in Minneapolis on Friday night after the killing of George Floyd in the hands of the police, saying that what this city witnessed was made by "thieves and anarchists."
The violence agenda
"The death of George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis is a serious tragedy," Trump said at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he was following the flight of two American astronauts. But he added that Floyd's memory had been offended by "rioters, thieves and anarchists", calling for "reconciliation, not hate, and justice, not chaos."
In Los Angeles, police officers fired rubber bullets during a confrontation with protesters who set fire to a police car.
The police also clashed with protesters in Chicago and New York, where several arrests took place.
Trump blamed the far left for the violence, including large-scale looting and arson in Minneapolis, saying "we cannot and should not allow a small group of criminals and saboteurs to destroy our cities."
In the same vein, US Secretary of Justice William Barr said that "fanatics and agitated agitators" are leading the protests in American cities.
"Groups of intolerant fanatics and agitators are taking advantage of the situation to continue implementing their agenda ... of violence," Barr said in a statement.
"Exceeding the limits of the state ... to participate in violent riots is a federal crime, and we will apply those laws," he said.