Protests Continue in Murder of George Floyd, Police Station Burned
As people continue to protest the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a police station was burned down overnight.
Amid the protests, a tweet from Donald Trump, retweeted by the White House, suggested that law enforcement should use deadly force to protect property.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” ~ The White House via Twitter
George Floyd, an African-American man, was in handcuffs, when a white officer, with 18 complaints of excessive use of force against him, put and kept his knee on George's neck. Even with the pleas from George and witnesses, the now former-officer, refused to remove his knee, causing the tragic death of George.
The four Minneapolis police officers were fired by the police department earlier this week and condemned by the Mayor. George's family and protesters want the officers to be charged with murder and convicted.
Overnight, peaceful protests over the murder of George, escalated. The 3rd Precinct station was set on fire after 10 pm on Thursday (May 28), according to WIVB.
“We don’t want to be here fighting against anyone. We don’t want anyone to be hurt. We don’t want to cause any damages. We just want the police officer to be held accountable.” ~ Erika Atson, who was on the scene of the protests in Minneapolis via WIVB
A CNN reporter, Omar Jimenez, who is black, and his crew was arrested by Minnesota State Police around 6 am. Other white CNN reporters on the scene were not arrested. Jimenez identified himself on live television as being a reporter and showed his credentials, prior to being arrested. Once the crew was released, the police stated that Jimenez was released once he showed his credentials.
"In the course of clearing the streets and restoring order at Lake Street and Snelling Avenue, four people were arrested by State Patrol troopers, including three members of a CNN crew. The three were released once they were confirmed to be members of the media." ~Minnesota State Police via Twitter
CNN categorically disagrees as do many on twitter who witnessed the arrest on live TV.