Trump threatens to deploy military as peaceful rally tear-gassed

Tear gas, rubber bullets, flash bangs fired at peaceful protesters as Trump threatens to deploy military to US states. Washington, DC – Minutes before US President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak from White House Rose Garden on Monday, flash bangs, rubber bullets and tear gas were fired at nearby crowds protesting peacefully against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died a week ago after a white officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.” With the area clear outside the White House, Trump then made an unexpected walk from his residence, across Lafayette Park – where protests against police brutality have taken place for days – and to the historic St John’s Episcopal Church, that was damaged during unrest the night before. “The core of it is outrage over George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis,” said Natalie Hopkinson, an assistant professor in Howard University’s Department of Communication, Culture and Media studies. Dozens of cities across the US were under similar curfews to the one imposed in Washington, DC, in events that have been likened to the riots following the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Late on Monday, Mayor Bowser expressed outrage by the incident outside the White House as Trump spoke.