United States - Donald Trump orders withdrawal of the Washington National Guard

• June, 8 2020 à 15:51
• Jean-Claude Dorsainvil
• Politique
• 0 Comments

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had ordered the National Guard, recently deployed to Washington to manage protests related to the death of George Floyd, to begin withdrawing from the US capital.
"I have just ordered our National Guard to start the process of withdrawing from Washington now that everything is perfectly under control," the president tweeted in the morning. "They will go home but can return quickly if necessary. Last night, there were far fewer protesters than expected! "
A group of soldiers in military uniforms was seen Saturday in front of the White House as thousands of protesters invaded Washington to hold the largest demonstration in the capital since the death of George Floyd, a black man from Minneapolis killed by white police .
Saturday's demonstration, which called for a change in police practices and paid tribute to Mr. Floyd, had remained peaceful. A truck was playing music, people started dancing unexpectedly, and others wrote messages in the street with chalk.
Less than a week ago, protests had increased in intensity and reached the steps of the presidential residence. Trump then threatened to use active duty military forces to repel the protesters, a move that has been condemned by officials in the current administration and in previous administrations.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote a letter to Trump on Friday urging him to "remove any extraordinary military and federal police presence" from his city, citing the peaceful nature of the protests.
The Washington National Guard confirmed on Saturday that it was investigating the use of one of its helicopters during Monday's protests. The helicopter was flying low over the White House while ground forces were reported to have used non-lethal weapons to disperse the crowd so that Mr. Trump could reach a church near the presidential residence and s 'have their picture taken there, which caused a lot of controversy.
For me and for the investigative team, the highest priority is to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, "said Major General Washington Walker, commander of the Washington National Guard, in a statement.