Fires burn in Minneapolis as protests rage over George Floyd’s death

National Guard troops called out earlier in the day by the governor kept a low profile. Gov. Tim Walz had ordered the Guard to help keep the peace after two previous nights of disturbances sparked by Floyd’s death on Monday.

In a late-night Twitter message, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would send in National Guard troops to “get the job done right” if the “weak” mayor failed to restore order, suggesting lethal force might be needed.

“Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump wrote.

Twitter hid the tweet in Trump’s timeline on Friday, but kept it visible for readers who choose to click through, accusing him of breaking its rules by “glorifying violence” in the message.

Twitter’s decision to step in, at a time of racially charged civil unrest in cities across the United States, escalates a feud between Trump and tech companies.

‘Please, I can’t breathe’

The arrest of Floyd, 46, was captured by an onlooker’s cellphone video that went viral and showed a police officer pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck as he moaned: “Please, I can’t breathe.”

Four police officers involved in the arrest of Floyd, who was accused of trying to pass counterfeit money at a corner store, were dismissed on Tuesday, but unrest has continued unabated.

Protests erupted on Wednesday in Los Angeles and Thursday in Denver, with freeway traffic blocked in both cities. In Phoenix, protesters faced off with police in riot gear at city hall, and a rally was held at the Arizona state capitol.

Thursday night’s disturbances in Minneapolis also spread into the adjacent city of St. Paul, the state capital, with fires and vandalism breaking out there.

In contrast with Wednesday night, when rock-throwing demonstrators clashed with police in riot gear, law enforcement in Minneapolis kept mostly out of sight around the epicentre of Thursday’s disturbances, the 3rd Precinct police station.

Protesters massing outside the building briefly retreated under volleys of police tear gas and rubber bullets fired at them from the roof, only to regroup and eventually attack the building, setting fire to the structure as police withdrew.

National Guard troops were absent, as were members of the fire department. Protesters were later observed on the roof, and a crowd of hundreds lingered around the building for hours, feeding flames with hunks of plywood and other debris.

At a news briefing early Friday, Mayor Jacob Frey defended his decision to evacuate the station due to “imminent threats to both officers and the public.”

‘We are strong as hell,’ mayor says

Asked by reporters if he had a response to Trump’s tweet, Frey said: “Weakness is refusing to take responsibility for your own actions. Weakness is pointing your own finger at a time of crisis.”

“Donald Trump knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis. We are strong as hell,” he said.

The Minnesota National Guard said it activated 500 of its soldiers in the greater Minneapolis area, mostly to provide security support to firefighters.

WATCH | See a response from the mayor of Minneapolis from earlier this week: 

The mayor said many of the troops had been posted around the city to help police prevent looting of banks, grocery stores, pharmacies and other essential locations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Several other buildings and a car were set ablaze and looters plundered several businesses, including a burning liquor store and nearby discount store that had been ransacked the night before. Fire officials said 16 buildings were torched on Wednesday night.

The upheaval followed concerted efforts by law enforcement officials to ease tensions by promising justice for Floyd.

The Floyd case was reminiscent of the 2014 killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man in New York City who died after being put in a banned police chokehold as he, too, was heard to say, “I can’t breathe.”

WATCH | Surveillance video shows initial contact police had with George Floyd:

Garner’s dying words became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement that formed amid a wave of killings of African Americans by police.

At a peaceful daytime rally and march on Thursday around a county government centre in Minneapolis, protesters pressed their demands for the four policemen to be arrested and charged.

“We’re not asking for a favour. We’re asking for what is right,” civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton said as he addressed the crowd.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo publicly apologized to Floyd’s family on Thursday morning, conceding his department had contributed to a “deficit of hope” in Minneapolis.

Officials overseeing investigations from the U.S. Justice Department, the FBI, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and prosecutors appealed for calm, vowing a thorough probe.

Floyd was a Houston native who had worked as a nightclub security guard.