Much of the protesting on behalf of racial justice and an end to police brutalization of African Americans has been peaceful — police officers have even joined some of those solidarity protests. But Washington and numerous other cities throughout the nation have experienced confrontational protests, with some of those present challenging the police and the community by setting fires, committing vandalism and looting businesses. President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday urging police to be more forceful in dealing with those causing trouble.
Protesters have also complained that police tactics in some cases have only served to heighten tensions, rather than reduce them.
The first widespread protests occurred in Minneapolis, the site of the Floyd killing, and a police precinct there was set ablaze late Thursday. Over the weekend, the protests extended to cities throughout the nation, including New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta, Raleigh, Sacramento and Los Angeles, recalling the wide-scale protests against the Vietnam War during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden visited the site of one such protest, in Wilmington, Del., on Sunday.
As has been the case in recent days, it was not entirely clear Sunday night who was involved in the confrontations with the police and other law enforcement officers. Members of the Trump administration have cast blame on antifa activists and other leftists — with some extra jabs at the media and the Democratic Party thrown in — while civil rights activists have said that members of various alt-right groups are behind some of the destruction. Some of the businesses that were looted or destroyed around the nation were owned or operated by minorities.
Justice Department officials said DEA agents and members of the U.S. Marshals Service were among those deployed to Lafayette Park on Sunday night.
Josh Gerstein contributed to this article.
Source: politico.com
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