- US. Trump proclaims himself president of "law and order" and threatens to deploy the Army to quell protests
- George Floyd: Protest and Unprecedented Racial Fire: What's Happening in America?
- Tension. Trump lashes out at "scum" looting New York as protests spread across the US
The prosecutor investigating the death of George Floyd has toughened the charges against the policeman who smothered him, whom he accuses of "unintentional homicide," and will also prosecute the other three officers present, reported Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Floyd's family, whose death on May 25 generated the largest wave of protests in decades in the United States, welcomed the decision in a statement released by their attorney, Ben Crump. "This is an important step towards justice," said the lawyer.
On May 25, George Floyd, 46, the father of a six-year-old girl and a former security guard - he had lost his job, like millions of Americans, during the coronavirus pandemic - was detained by police after the A store clerk denounced him for trying to pay with a fake $ 20 bill. Four officers arrested Floyd and handcuffed him; One of them kept him on the ground, kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes, while Floyd screamed that he couldn't breathe. The videos of this moment, which capture the last minutes of Floyd's life, went viral and sparked a wave of outrage across the country, joined by political and artistic personalities who denounced police violence against blacks. The day after Floyd's death, all four officers involved in the incident were fired. But it was not enough. The protests started that same night in Minneapolis with the cry of "I can't breathe". Meanwhile, up to two different autopsies have indicated that Floyd died of homicide due to "a compression of the neck".
Derek Chauvin was arrested last Friday, accused of involuntary manslaughter for his responsibility in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin continued to press his knee against Floyd's neck minutes after Floyd had passed out and when the emergency services had already arrived at the scene.
PROTESTS
On May 26 protests begin in Minneapolis, initially peacefully, but throughout the night they lead to violence and looting. The following days, protesters set fire to up to three city police stations. On May 28, the Minnesota state governor deploys up to 500 National Guard soldiers as the Mayor of Minneapolis declares a state of emergency. At the same time, protests against racism extend to as many as a hundred cities across the country, including some as important as Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, San Francisco or Washington, even reaching doors of the White House.
The protesters managed to break the fence erected by the police in front of the presidential residence. Pavers, stones and bottles were thrown, and after eleven hours of protests, the police dispersed the protesters - who are threatening to return - with tear gas. Inside the White House, Trump tweeted: "I was inside, I followed every move. I couldn't have felt more secure. If the protesters (" organized groups ") had breached the fence they would have been greeted with fierce dogs and fearsome weapons."
Up to 12 cities maintain the nightly curfew. On Sunday, 15 states authorized the deployment of up to 5,000 National Guard personnel - Army reservists. In addition, the 82nd Division - a unit that can be deployed anywhere in the world in 18 hours - is quartered in North Carolina, in case it is necessary to send it to any city. At least four police officers have been injured in the protests and two people have died in the Chicago riots.
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