PRESIDENT Donald Trump slammed Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio for New York City being “totally out of control” as thousands across the US defied curfews for an eighth night of George Floyd protests.
On Tuesday night, Trump tweeted that city police officers were “not being allowed to perform their MAGIC but regardless, and with the momentum that the Radical Left and others have been allowed to build, they will need additional help.”
He said Cuomo, the governor of New York, and de Blasio, the mayor of the Big Apple, “MUST PUT DOWN RIOTING NOW!”
Protesters defied curfews in major cities throughout the countries to protest police brutality and racism after Floyd died last week after a police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes.
Hundreds were believed to have been arrested in cities like Minneapolis, Atlanta, Washington DC, and New York after demonstrators refused to obey curfews imposed by city officials.
In New York, de Blasio doubled down on a citywide curfew, moving it up from 11pm the night before to 8pm, but rejected urging from Trump and an offer from Cuomo to bring in the National Guard.
“Everyone, time to go home so we can keep people safe,” he said on WINS-AM radio shortly after the curfew took effect.
Trump tweeted “The National Guard is ready!” to assist in the city.
But his pleas were ignored by crowds of hundreds around the city who continued marching throughout the streets.
In some areas, police let people continue on their way, while making arrests in others.
“I’m surprised,” said Risha Munoz, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where at points they were greeted with cheers and horns by onlookers in building windows.
“I didn’t think they were gonna let us go on, but we just kept on moving and we’re not stopping.”
In some locations, officers started ordering people to move along, and began taking people into custody.
Demonstrators who had been on the West Side Highway in lower Manhattan were herded off, with parts of the roadway blocked off behind them.
“Something has to break, and it’s not going to be us,” said Evan Kutcher, one of hundreds of demonstrators who stood outside the Barclays Center chanting Floyd’s name Tuesday evening.
The police department announced it would not allow vehicle traffic south of 96th Street in Manhattan after curfew, though residents, essential workers, buses, and truck deliveries were exempt.
On Saturday night, a young black couple was tasered and dragged out of their car for breaking the curfew in Atlanta.
Investigator Ivory Streeter and Investigator Mark Gardner, were filmed tasing the pair and dragging them from their car during George Floyd protests.
The officers involved have since been fired, and four other officers were charged because of the incident.
This, however, did not prevent protesters from staying out past curfew on Tuesday night.
In Washington DC, a similar story emerged, with large crowds continuing to march long past the 7pm curfew.
The peaceful demonstrators remained in Lafayette Square — the site which Trump had cleared on Monday so he could pay tribute to a local church targeted by arsonists.
Over on the West Coast, in Los Angeles, protesters who had been marching in Hollywood all day declined to leave the streets.
As many as 190 people were lined up, stretching for more than a block as police began making arrests on those who had stayed out.
Hundreds had been arrested the night before, most for breaking Monday night’s curfew.
Although Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s protests had been hijacked by widespread violence and looting across the city, Monday remained relatively peaceful, bar a handful of incidents in Van Nuys and Hollywood.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore caused outrage on Monday after saying the death of George Floyd was on the “hands” of looters as much as it was on the police who arrested him.
“We didn’t have people mourning the death of this man, George Floyd. We had people capitalizing. His death is on their hands, as much as it is those officers,” he said during a press conference.
Mayor Eric Garcetti is now facing calls to fire Moore, who has since apologized for the comments.
“I regret the remarks of that characterization, but I don’t regret, nor will I apologize to those who are out there today committing violence, destroying lives and livelihoods, and creating this destruction,” Moore said.
Garcetti announced on Tuesday he would be directing the LAPD to “minimize” its use of rubber bullets on protesters.
“I think that we’ve seen less of any of those tactics and I hope that we can see the most minimal if not zero of those tactics,” he said.
In Portland, hundreds of people lay out on the Burnside Bridge with their hands behind their back in the sixth day of protests in the city.
On the same day, Trump threatened to deploy more of the military to quash protests if governors did not handle the situation themselves.
Speaking from the Rose Garden on Monday, the president said he’d put “thousands” of troops on the streets to “solve the problem” of rioting.
“America is founded on the rule of law,” Trump said, adding: “If malice or violence reigns, then none of us are free”.
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As the president spoke, loud explosions could be heard in the background as tear gas was fired at protesters on the streets of Washington DC.
Before the speech, officers near the White House aggressively forced the protesters back, firing tear gas and using flash bangs to disperse them from the park where they had gathered.
Trump also said he would deploy “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers” to bring order.
