The White House will be establishing a “central command center” to oversee the federal response to riots that have flared nationwide alongside peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced on June 1.
McEnany told reporters on Monday that Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Attorney General William Barr, and Gen. Mark Milley, chief of Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be involved, but did not elaborate further.
“There will be additional federal assets deployed across the nation,” McEnany said. “There will be a central command center in conjunction with the state and local governments. That will include General Milley, Secretary Esper, and AG Barr.”
“But I won’t go any further in announcing what actions,” she added.
The announcement came as President Donald Trump said he is deploying military personnel along with other federal assets to stop violent riots in Washington.
“As we speak I am dispatching thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalizing, assaults, and wanton destruction of property,” Trump announced during a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Trump called the violence in the nation’s capital Sunday night a “disgrace.” He said that a 7 p.m. curfew for the city would be “strictly enforced” that evening.
“We must never give in to anger or hatred. If malice or violence reigns, then none of us is free,” he said.
The president also said that he strongly recommended that governors deploy the National Guard in their states.
“Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” he said. “If a city or a 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.”
Lawmakers have publicly condemned the widespread rioting, violence, and looting that has marred the otherwise peaceful protests over the death of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.
According to a tally compiled by The Associated Press, at least 4,400 people have been arrested across the United States after days of protests.
Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, was charged Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Chauvin and three other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest were fired.
A widely circulated video showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck while Floyd told officers, “I can’t breathe,” before he eventually became unresponsive. According to a Minneapolis Fire Department report (pdf), Floyd was unresponsive and “pulseless” when being transported in an ambulance by paramedics to the hospital.
According to Floyd’s family, the results of a second independent autopsy they commissioned said that “sustained pressure on the right side of Floyd’s carotid artery impeded blood flow to the brain, and weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe.”
Allen Zhong contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
