The death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis has enraged the US and caused protests to erupt all over the country. Amidst the chaos, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would use military force to quell the protests, some of which have been peaceful and some that have been violent with people breaking into and looting stores.
On Tuesday, Washington's Catholic archbishop strongly criticised Trump's visit to a shrine amidst civil unrest. Archbishop Wilton D Gregory said that that president’s visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine was “manipulated”.
And now, former Pentagon chief Jim Mattis issued a stinging rebuke of his erstwhile boss, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, accusing the president of trying to “divide” America and failing to provide “mature leadership” as the country reels from days of protests.
Mattis resigned in December 2018 over Trump's ordering of a full troop withdrawal from Syria. Mattis also voiced support for the demonstrators whose anti-racism rallies have roiled the country.
Mattis said that he was “angry and appalled” after witnessing events of the last week, which saw Trump threaten a military crackdown as nationwide protests turned violent in some cities.
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There has been a mix of peaceful and violent protests after a video of a black man being suffocated to death as a police officer stood on his neck went viral.
Mattis wrote that the protesters' call for equal justice was a “wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind”.
As per a New York Times report, Minnesota police accused three more officers of breaking the law while detaining Floyd and added an additional charge of second-degree murder to the officer who was kneeling on Floyd as he suffocated. This meets one of the demands of the protestors. But, the protestors want convictions and more systemic changes to take place.
