'A wild card now is POTUS, what he will order,' a senior military officer told Newsweek. Federal troops are being readied in response to White House requests.
Military Police stand in riot gear as they block protesters across from the White House on May 30, 2020 in Washington DC, during a protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
"A wild card right now is POTUS, what he will order," the officer says. With armed soldiers already on the streets of America with multiple curfews instituted in cities and states, the officer says that military officials at the command level and in the field are grappling with the actual law enforcement role that the armed forces will play.
On Thursday as well, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order activating the Minnesota Guard. President Trump spoke to Gov. Walz in the hours following his national security meeting, saying Friday morning that he"told him that the military is with him all the way." Though continuing to maintain that the armed troops were not enforcing the law, he said that local commanders"retained the right of self-defense."
By Saturday, Governor Walz had authorized the full call up of Minnesota's 13,200 guardsmen. That night, National Guard troops were deployed to the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul with gas masks on, anticipating the use of tear gas and other non-lethal weapons. The Act was invoked in Los Angeles in May 1992, when protests turned violent after a jury acquitted the officers involved in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. In that case, then-Governor Pete Wilson requested federal military assistance from President George H.W. Bush. The Insurrection Act also authorizes the president to deploy the federal and state forces whenever he believes it is necessary"to suppress an insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination or conspiracy.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Anti-Trump Republican group attacks Trump on race in new adThe anti-Trump Republican group, The Lincoln Project, is planning to air a new attack ad blasting President Donald Trump's record on race relations in the US.
Read more »
Trump Has Already Put Himself in No Position to Help Hong KongEven if he wants to, the president has neither the leverage, the diplomatic skill, nor the credibility to stand up to China over its new power grab.
Read more »
Protests over George Floyd escalate near White House, around DC as Trump warns against 'mob violence'Some protestors threw bottles at Secret Service agents and police near the White House. Officers responded by firing tear gas to break up the crowds.
Read more »
Expectations low for Trump DOJ to address civil rights issues in MinneapolisVanita Gupta, former head of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, talks with Rachel Maddow about the public expression of a need for justice in George Floyd case and skepticism that the DOJ under Donald Trump is capable of delivering that justice.
Read more »