George Floyd: Trump threatens protesters with 'most ominous guns, vicious dogs' if they storm White House
President Donald Trump, on Saturday, May 30, warned Black Lives Matter protesters across the country that they will face "the most vicious dogs" and "the most ominous guns" if they attempt to breach the White House. Trump made the statement hours after protests and clashes broke out outside the White House on the night of May 29 following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis earlier this week.
"Great job last night at the White House by the U.S. @SecretService," Trump tweeted. "They were not only totally professional but very cool. I was inside, watched every move, and couldn’t have felt more safe. They let the 'protesters' scream & rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn’t know what hit them."
"The front line was replaced with fresh agents, like magic. Big crowd, professionally organized, but nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen," the president tweeted. "That’s when people would have been really badly hurt, at least. Many Secret Service agents just waiting for action. 'We put the young ones on the front line, sir, they love it, and good practice.'"
"As you saw last night, they were very cool & very professional. Never let it get out of hand. Thank you! On the bad side, the D.C. Mayor, @MurielBowser, who is always looking for money & help, wouldn’t let the D.C. Police get involved. 'Not their job'. Nice!" Trump added in his string of tweets.
The president, whose DC residence is considered one of the world's most secure buildings, made the statement as thousands across the country took to the streets to protest in the wake of Floyd's death.
Four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's brutal death were fired on May 26 after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The footage showed Floyd pleading with officers as one of them, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck while the 46-year-old told them to let him stand because he could not breathe. The clip showed Floyd pleading with the officer to allow him to breathe and a few minutes later he became unconscious. Chauvin was arrested on May 29 on third-degree murder charges.
Minneapolis has witnessed four days of protests and rioting in the region, and the demonstrations have since spread to other US cities including New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, and Portland.
The demonstrations began outside the White Hosue hours after Trump sparked accusations of racism as he referred to the looters as "THUGS" and tweeted: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." The controversial phrase was popularized by segregationist Miami Police Chief Walter Headley in 1967. When asked by his usage of the phrase, the president denied knowing that its roots. Trump defended his remark, stating that he had used the controversial phrase as a public safety message instead.