Anti-racism protests in DC remain peaceful after Trump orders National Guard's pullout
Jun 08, 2020
Washington D.C. [US], June 8 (Sputnik/ANI): Protests in Washington, DC, which broke out in light of African American man George Floyd's death in police custody, remain peaceful despite US President Donald Trump's order to withdraw National Guard military reserve forces from the city, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
National Guard forces have been activated across the US in the wake of the unrest that followed protests against police violence and racism. Saturday marked what a Sputnik correspondent called the biggest day of protests yet in Washington D.C. Thousands of people took the streets of the capital, staging rallies near the Lincoln Memorial and the White House and marching past the Capitol and the State Department. On Sunday, Trump ordered the National Guard forces to withdraw from the capital after stopping the protests from escalating further.
Sunday's demonstrations were held in a more relaxed manner after the tension of recent days with Washington policemen replaced National Guard officers, the correspondent reported. Rioters are mostly pushed back by groups of peaceful protesters.
A fence on the 16th street leading to the White House remained, but it was no longer guarded by heavily armed soldiers. National Guard's armored cars on the city streets were replaced with mobile stands with ice cream and fast food.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in their neighborhoods and then peacefully marched towards the White House, chanting anti-racist slogans and names of African American people who had died at the hands of the police.
A wave of protests against police brutality has been sweeping the US since late May after Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody. The African American man died on May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinned him to the ground with his knee for over eight minutes. Chauvin was charged with second-degree and third-degree murder and manslaughter while other three officers involved in the incident were charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
The incident also triggered mass demonstrations in a number of countries across the world with some of them turning violent and leading to clashes with law enforcement officers. (Sputnik/ANI)
