CNN quoted a Pentagon official as saying that President Donald Trump requested the deployment of 10,000 soldiers in Washington, DC, and other US cities to counter protests last week, and that Defense Secretary Mark Esber and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Millie had rejected This request, in response to mass demonstrations in Washington and other American and European cities, against racism and police violence.
The New Yorker had reported that it had learned from White House sources of a verbal argument between President Trump and General Mark Millie.
And the magazine reported that General Millie raised his voice in the face of the President in protest against his request to take the army to the streets of American cities to end the protests, where Milli believes that the army's take to the street is against the law.
The report said that this altercation took place last Monday, when Trump made a controversial visit to the historic St. John's Church near the White House, after security forces removed demonstrators from his path.
For his part, the head of the American Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said that the murder of George Floyd reveals the harsh truth of racial discrimination and police violence against African Americans.
Schiff revealed that during the period of the previous US administration, progress has been made in combating racial discrimination in the country, contrary to what is happening today, stressing in a video posted on his Twitter page that what the country is witnessing is a historic event.
In the same context, former US defense ministers and dozens of military officials accused - in a joint message - President Trump of betraying the oath and constitution, for his consideration of landing the army to confront the protesters; Among the signatories was former Defense Secretary James Mattis.
On the other hand, Trump called on the governors of states that witnessed violence during the protests to impose hegemony on the street by calling in the National Guard for help.
Mass demonstrations
Meanwhile, crowds poured into Washington to demand the end of what it described as police violence and reform the criminal justice system, as part of ongoing protests calling for justice for George Floyd.
About a dozen marches were launched from different places in Washington and surrounding areas to meet in a central gathering in front of the White House, and the protesters chanted slogans affirming that there is no peace without justice and that the lives of blacks are important, demanding the departure of Trump.
The police imposed an expanded security cordon around the White House, which is now fortified with an additional barrier of steel grids.
Protesters gathered in Washington Square, south of New York City's Manhattan neighborhood, as part of marches and protest moves in the city to demand an end to what protesters describe as racial discrimination, and an end to what they say is unjustified violence by the police.
In Dallas, Texas, protesters gathered to condemn the killing of George Floyd and call for unity, and the peacefully-attended crowd took part in people of different ethnicities and ages.
A memorial ceremony for Floyd on Saturday was held in Ryford, North Carolina - the state in which he was born - after his memorial service in Minneapolis on Thursday.
Prominent political figures from the Democratic Party in the United States have adopted calls and slogans of protesters angered by Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police, and have called for reforms in the police.
Protests around the world
The protests against racism were not limited to the United States only. In Britain, thousands of people demonstrated in several cities despite warnings from the Ministries of Health and Home Affairs of the danger of gatherings to public health under the Corona pandemic.
In London, thousands gathered in front of Parliament Square, condemning what they described as systematic racism against ethnic minorities, before dozens of them clashed with police officers in front of the government headquarters.
"The United Kingdom is not innocent," the protesters chanted, and they performed a minute of silence, kneeling and holding hands, before some of them headed towards the American embassy.
The scene was similar in Manchester (northwest), as thousands gathered to "end racism", which was described as another "epidemic".
In France, thousands came out in solidarity with George Floyd, and protesters raised slogans calling for equality and an end to racism against citizens of African descent, and for justice in the case of Adama Traore, who was murdered by French police during his arrest attempt in 2016.
The end of the gathering in Metz was marked by clashes, during which the city's Attorney General was slightly injured.
Despite the authorities' ban in Paris, several thousand demanded "justice for all" in front of the US embassy, which they stayed away from after a heavy deployment of security forces and the publication of iron barriers.
In Germany, thousands demonstrated across the country, and Bayern Munich players expressed solidarity during their warm-up exercises in T-shirts with the words "Red Card Against Racism - Life of Blacks Important", ahead of their match against Leverkusen.
On the main square of Turin in northern Italy, young men stood for eight minutes silent.
In Warsaw, about a thousand people demonstrated, and left-wing presidential candidate Robert Bidron joined them.
In Australia, there were several protests against racism, and the demonstrations raised the slogan "the lives of blacks are important". In Sydney, a demonstration was held, during which protesters carried banners denouncing what happened in the United States, and calling for justice in this case.
George Floyd, 46, died on May 25, after a policeman pressed his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis.