Georgia’s governor yesterday declared a state of emergency to activate the state’s National Guard as violence flared in Atlanta and cities nationwide following the death in Minnesota of George Floyd after a police officer pressed a knee into his neck while taking him into custody.
Another 500 National Guard soldiers were mobilized in and around Minneapolis, where Floyd died and an officer on Friday faced charges over his death.
However, after another night of watching fires burn and businesses ransacked, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said that he was moving to activate more than 1,000 more and was considering federal help.
Photo: AP
The National Guard was also on standby in Washington, where a crowd outside the White House chanted curses at US President Donald Trump. Some protesters tried to push through barriers set up by the US Secret Service along Pennsylvania Avenue, and threw bottles and other objects at officers wearing riot gear, who responded with pepper spray.
A person was killed in downtown Detroit just before midnight after someone in an SUV fired shots into a crowd of protesters near the Greektown entertainment district, police said.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp wrote on Twitter that up to 500 members of the National Guard would deploy immediately “to protect people & property in Atlanta.”
Kemp said that he acted at the request of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who earlier appealed in vain for calm.
In scenes peaceful and violent across the US, thousands of protesters chanted: “No justice, no peace” and “Say his name. George Floyd.”
Some demonstrators smashed police cars and spray painted the logo sign at CNN headquarters in downtown Atlanta.
Atlanta officials said that crews were unable to reach a fire at the Del Frisco restaurant in the Buckhead neighborhood because of protesters there.
“This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr,” Bottoms said.“You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country.”
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