First Lady Melania Trump addressed the protests that took place in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, writing that there was no reason for violence.
Violence broke out amid the protests with looting and local businesses set ablaze. On Thursday night protesters also set the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct on fire while other protesters watched, according to video footage of the chaotic protest.
“Our country allows for peaceful protests, but there is no reason for violence. I’ve seen our citizens unify and take care of one another through COVID-19 and we can’t stop now,” Melania Trump wrote on Twitter. “My deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd. As a nation, let’s focus on peace, prayers, and healing.”
The first lady’s tweet was made following one written by President Donald Trump early Friday, in which he called out the looting and arson, saying that the violence was dishonoring Floyd’s memory.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” the president wrote, also criticizing Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for what Trump called “a total lack of leadership.”
“Just spoke with 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 president wrote, a tweet that was subsequently flagged by Twitter as glorifying violence.
The president addressed this in a tweet later on Friday, explaining that the expression wasn’t intended to glorify violence.
“Looting leads to shooting, and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night—or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot. I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means,” the president wrote.
George Floyd, 46, a father of two, was pronounced dead Monday night after he was taken into custody by authorities in Minneapolis. According to a Minneapolis Fire Department report, Floyd was unresponsive and “pulseless” when being transported into an ambulance by paramedics from the site of his arrest to the hospital.
Minneapolis Police said in a statement on Tuesday that officers were responding to a report of forgery when the man resisted. According to the statement, Floyd died after “suffering medical distress.”
Epoch Times reporter Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
