During a press conference on Thursday, Minneapolis Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins called for calm and peace and admonished rioters for hurting the “very communities that you say that you are standing up for.”
On Wednesday, protests in Minneapolis turned ugly, as looting, violence, and arson erupted across the city, following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer had his knee on the 46-year-old’s neck during an arrest, viral video shows.
“Today is a sad day for Minneapolis, it’s a sad day for America, it’s a sad day for the world,” the city council VP started.
“I want to remind all the people that are in the streets that are protesting: you have every absolute right to be angry, to be upset, to be mad, to express your anger,” she continued. “However, you have no right to perpetrate violence and harm on the very communities that you say that you are standing up for”
“We need peace and calm in our streets, and I am begging you for that calm,” Jenkins added.
The city official started the presser by singing “Amazing Grace” and equating racism to a “virus” that must be named and defeated.
Earlier this week, a video of Floyd’s arrest went viral, sparking outrage.
“An eight-minute clip filmed by a person on the street shows Floyd telling police he can’t breathe and begging the cop on top of him to stop before he falls unconscious,” The Daily Wire reported Tuesday. “Officer Derek Chauvin was identified as the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck outside Cup Foods on Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street.”
“He’s not even resisting arrest right now, bro,” one bystander is heard telling the officers, according to the video. “You’re f***ing stopping his breathing right now, you think that’s cool?”
All four officers involved in the arrest have been fired, and the FBI and state law enforcement officials are investigating the 46-year-old’s death.
Protests in response to Floyd’s death started to turn ugly by Wednesday evening. Dozens of looters destroyed a Target store, grabbing TVs and other goods, filling up carts, and jetting out of the store without paying. Into the night, AutoZone, Target, and other businesses were set ablaze by rioters. And at least one man was shot dead outside a pawn shop.
Late Tuesday night, violence began to spread to other cities, including Los Angeles, California
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that he directed the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate Floyd’s death.
“At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd,” Trump said on via Twitter, as noted by The Daily Wire. “I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served!”
WATCH:
Minneapolis Council Vice Pres. Andrea Jenkins on protests over George Floyd's death: “You have every absolute right to be angry, to be upset, to be mad…However, you have no right to perpetrate violence and harm on the very communities that you say that you are standing up for” pic.twitter.com/2qZlGUW1DJ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 28, 2020
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