We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Princess Martha Louise of Norway, 48, shared an image of a woman holding a sign about George Floyd on Instagram, after he was filmed struggling to breathe as a police officer knealt on his neck. He died on May 25 after he was arrested on the street and was heard repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe”.

Riots and protests have erupted across the United States in fury at the treatment of black Americans by white police officers, with three nights of violence and looting in Minneapolis.

The Mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey last night ordered a tactical police retreat from a police station that was set on fire.

Writing to her 97,500 Instagram followers, Princess Martha said: “Stop!!! It has been going on for far too long; the killing of innocent men and women!

“Who are these Monsters of Distorted Believes thinking they have the right to kill someone just because a different pigment of their skin?

“It grieves me so deeply that we as a human race has not developed past killing each other, bringing someone else down, hurting each other because of our own insecurities.

“When will we wake up to see that we are part of the same creation? That we are all the same? When will we wake up to see we can trust and love each other because that is what we are here on Earth to do.

“How many more men and women will die, get hurt, get bullied, get threatened before anything changes? When will we wake up? Stop this inhumanity! #alllifematters #blacklivesmatter #stopthekilling #stopthestigma #icantbreathe.”

Four police officers involved in the arrest of Floyd, who was accused of trying to pass counterfeit money at a corner store, were dismissed on Tuesday, but unrest has continued unabated.

Sympathy protests erupted on Wednesday in Los Angeles and Thursday in Denver, with freeway traffic blocked in both cities.

In Phoenix, protesters faced off with police in riot gear at City Hall, and a rally was held at the Arizona state Capitol.

President Donald Trump said he would send in the National Guard troops to “get the job done right” if the “weak” mayor failed to restore order, suggesting lethal force might be needed.

In a tweet that was hidden by Twitter for “glorifying violence”, Trump wrote: “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

DON’T MISS:
Minneapolis riots: Protesters steal US Postal Service cars as 7 shot [RIOT]
How Prince Philip used ‘dignified option to avoid seeing Donald Trump’ [INSIGHT]
Meghan Markle’s future of ‘endless opportunity’ includes politics [MEGXIT]

View this post on Instagram

Stop!!! It has been going on for far too long; the killing of innocent men and women! Who are these Monsters of Distorted Believes thinking they have the right to kill someone just because a different pigment of their skin? It grieves me so deeply that we as a human race has not developed past killing each other, bringing someone else down, hurting each other because of our own insecurities. When will we wake up to see that we are part of the same creation? That we are all the same? When will we wake up to see we can trust and love each other because that is what we are here on earth to do. How many more men and women will die, get hurt, get bullied, get threatened before anything changes? When will we wake up? Stop this inhumanity! #alllifematters #blacklivesmatter #stopthekilling #stopthestigma #icantbreathe

A post shared byMärtha Louise (@iam_marthalouise) on May 28, 2020 at 3:14am PDT

Thursday night’s disturbances in Minneapolis also spread into adjacent city of St. Paul, the state capital, with fires and vandalism breaking out there.

In contrast with Wednesday night, when rock-throwing demonstrators clashed with police in riot gear, law enforcement in Minneapolis kept mostly out of sight around the epicenter of Thursday’s disturbances, the Third Precinct police station.

Protesters massing outside the building briefly retreated under volleys of police tear gas and rubber bullets fired at them from the roof, only to regroup and eventually attack the building, setting fire to the structure as police withdrew.

National Guard troops were absent, as were members of the fire department. Protesters were later observed on the roof, and a crowd of hundreds lingered around the building for hours, feeding flames with hunks of plywood and other debris.

At a news briefing early Friday, Mayor Jacob Frey defended his decision to evacuate the precinct station due to “imminent threats to both officers and the public.”

Asked by reporters if he had a response to Trump’s tweet, Frey said: “Weakness is refusing to take responsibility for your own actions. Weakness is pointing your own finger at a time of crisis.”

“Donald Trump knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis. We are strong as hell,” he said.

The Minnesota National Guard said it activated 500 of its soldiers in the greater Minneapolis area, mostly to provide security support to firefighters.

The mayor said many of the troops had been posted around the city to help police prevent looting of banks, grocery stores, pharmacies and other essential locations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Several other buildings and a car were set ablaze and looters plundered several businesses, including a burning liquor store and nearby discount store that had been ransacked the night before. Fire officials said 16 buildings were torched on Wednesday night.

The upheaval followed concerted efforts by law enforcement officials to ease tensions by promising justice for Floyd.

The Floyd case was reminiscent of the 2014 killing of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man in New York City who died after being put in a banned police chokehold as he, too, was heard to mutter “I can’t breathe”.

Garner’s dying words became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement that formed amid a wave of killings of African-Americans by police.

At a peaceful daytime rally and march on Thursday around a county government center in Minneapolis, protesters pressed their demands for the four policemen to be arrested and charged.

“We’re not asking for a favor. We’re asking for what is right,” civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton said as he addressed the crowd.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo publicly apologized to Floyd’s family on Thursday morning, conceding his department had contributed to a “deficit of hope” in Minneapolis.

Officials overseeing investigations from the US Justice Department, FBI, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and prosecutors appealed for calm, vowing a thorough investigation.

Floyd was a Houston native who had worked as a nightclub security guard. An employee who called police described the suspect as appearing to be drunk, according to an official transcript of the call.

Source: Read Full Article