Donald Trump's been at the receiving end of backlash this week but that's not actually anything new. His decision to bring in the National Guard as protests erupted across the country only led to more harm than good with peaceful protesters facing excessive force at the hands of law enforcement officials as they protest against it.
The mayor of Washington, specifically, demanded that Trump pull the National Guard out of the city. She even went as far as getting Black Lives Matter painted on the street leading to the White House. Though Trump has threatened to deploy other agencies into the city during the protests, he's now announced that he'll be pulling out the National Guard. Starting in Washington, D.C., though this could be temporary.
"I have just given an order for our National Guard to start the process of withdrawing from Washington, D.C., now that everything is under perfect control. They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed. Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!" Trump tweeted.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter to Trump on Friday asking that he removes the National Guard, especially since local police made no arrests.
"The protestors have been peaceful, and last night, the Metropolitan Police Department did not make a single arrest. Therefore, I am requesting that you withdraw all extraordinary law enforcement and military presence from Washington, DC," she wrote.
Keke Palmer Pleads With National Guardsman To Walk Alongside Protesters
Keke Palmer joined the protest and asked a National Guardsman to walk with them, and when he told her he could only go to the corner, she said that wasn't enough.
Celebrities are hitting the streets as they join the peaceful protests across the country, and Keke Palmer is the latest famous face to be seen. A video clip of the talk show host went viral and garnered mixed reactions on Tuesday (June 2) as she passionately pleaded with a National Guardsman to abandon his post and march alongside protesters.
View this post on Instagram"Once the looting starts the shooting starts? We have a president talking about the second amendment as a use for people to come out here to use firearms against the people who are suffering," Keke Palmer said as she was face-to-face with the soldier as other protesters surrounded him. "This is the message that we're seeing. I don't know if you're on social media because the news don't tell you everything, but you have to pay attention to what's going on. Or else, we have a president that's trying to incite a race war when the borders are closed."
"We can't leave. You have people in here that need your help," she added. "You, y'all stand together with the community, with society. To stop the governmental oppression. Period. We need you. So march with us. March beside us. You get your people. Y'all march beside us! March beside us! Let the revolution be televised! March beside us and show us that you're here for us." The soldier let her know that he would march with the group from one end of the street to the other, but because of his assignment to control the area, he couldn't go any further than that block. It wasn't enough for Keke and she let him know that.
While Keke Palmer wasn't satisfied with the soldier's answer, someone else asked him if he would at least take a knee, which he did. Some people criticized Keke for not understanding that even kneeling put the man's military career and life at risk, while others applauded her for being brave enough to challenge authority. Check it out below.
National Guard Arrives In Minneapolis, Appears To Shoot At Residents
A member of National Guard can be heard yelling "Light Them Up" before shooting riot control ammo at people.
Every single scene coming out of the United States has been quite disturbing, to say the least. Following the police killing of George Floyd, thousands of people have taken to the streets across America where they have begun protesting the injustices that people of color have been facing for hundreds of years. People are pissed off and they are fed up with how the police continue to abuse their power and make citizens scared to walk around their very own communities.
Minneapolis, Minnesota has seen the brunt of the protests, and yesterday, President Donald Trump sent in the National Guard to keep people in their homes. As you can see in the video below, a few National Guard vehicles were sent into a residential neighborhood and if people were caught outside of their homes, they were shot at with rubber bullets.
In this particular slip, you can even hear a soldier yell "light them up." Using language like this against your own people is true abuse of power and it is something one would expect from a nation overseas and not the United States. With the country exerting this kind of force against civilians, we can only hope that you all stay safe out there.
Gov. Cuomo Threatens To Sue Rhode Island For Keeping New Yorkers Out
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatens to sue Rhode Island over harsh new travel restrictions targeting New Yorkers in an attempt to slow Coronavirus spread.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will sue Rhode Island if the state does not retract its new decision to search door-to-door to find New Yorkers, as well as pull over any vehicle with New York plates.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
“If they uphold that policy, I’m going to sue Rhode Island,” he told CNN Saturday. “That clearly is unconstitutional. I understand the goal, and I could set up my borders and say ‘I’m not letting anyone in until they take a test to see whether or not they have the virus,’ but there’s a point of absurdity. I think what Rhode Island did is at that point of absurdity, and again, it’s not even legal.”
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has issued new measures that instruct law enforcement to stop anyone with a New York license plate and collect information about them. The National Guard is stationed at Amtrak and bus stations to do the same. The National Guard will also be going door-to-door to find anyone who has been to New York recently and will enforce a 14-day quarantine.
“I think what they did is wrong, it was reactionary. I think it was illegal but we’ll work it out amicably, I’m sure,” Cuomo said. “ No state should be using police to prohibit interstate travel in any way.”
[Via]