Trump supporters seen reenacting George Floyd's killing to taunt BLM protesters in 'revolting' video
A group of white Trump supporters in New Jersey sparked outrage on Monday, June 8, after they taunted a Black Lives Matter protest with a sign reading 'All Lives Matter' and appeared to re-enact the brutal death of George Floyd. The counter-protesters' group in Frankville reportedly also included a corrections officer and a FedEx employee, resulting in one being suspended and the other fired shortly after the incident was captured on a cellphone camera.
Footage of the incident, which became viral on social media, showed the Black Lives Matter protesters marching along a street chanting "George Floyd!" and "Black Lives Matter!" as they were escorted by police. When the protesters passed a private property filled with firewood for sale, the clip showed a man kneeling on the neck of another man and shouting back at the protesters. The gesture appeared to mock Floyd's death, an unarmed black man who was killed on May 25 in police custody after an officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes while Floyd pleaded with the cop to let him breathe. Floyd's death triggered rampant protests in the country and across the world demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism.
The counter-protesters' group could be seen standing on the roadside in front of a pickup truck covered with an American flag and a Trump banner. An 'All Lives Matter' sign could also be seen placed there along with another truck showing the "thin blue line" flag meant to show support for law enforcement workers. Ever since the video was posted on social media, it has received thousands of shares and views.
You can watch the video here.
A day after the incident, the New Jersey Department of Corrections released a statement, saying that they were alerted that one of its officers had participated in the filming of a "hateful and disappointing video that mocked the killing of George Floyd" and had been suspended as a result.
"The individual has been suspended from their post and banned from NJDOC facilities pending a thorough and expedited investigation," the statement said. Although the department did not disclose the name of the officer, it pointed out that he was a senior corrections police officer who joined the Corrections Department in March 2002. He previously worked at a youth detention facility in Bordentown until January 2019.
A FedEx spokesperson also released a statement confirming that another person in the controversial video was their employee and has since been fired. The former FedEx employee was identified as DeMarco by TMZ, and is believed to be the man kneeling on another man's neck in the mocking clip. DeMarco, in the video referring to Floyd, could be heard shouting: "He's dead because he didn't comply."
Police Chief Brian Zimmer and Mayor John Bruno also released statements after the incident, saying they were "appalled and saddened by the revolting actions of certain individuals." Governor Phil Murphy also denounced the incident on Tuesday, June 9, on Twitter, saying that the state will not "let the actions of a few distract from our progress toward dismantling systemic racism."
"Mocking George Floyd´s murder in effort to belittle the calls for justice from our Black and Brown communities is repugnant," Murphy tweeted.