Four Police Officers Shot In St. Louis Protests, As Trump Stages Ridiculous Bible Photo-Op

Donate

Click to see full-size image

On June 1^st, 4 St. Louis police officers were shot by protesters, hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to use the U.S. military to halt the spreading clashes.

None of their lives are in danger.

Chief Hayden provides an update on 4 of our officers who were struck by gunfire tonight during the downtown unrest. https://t.co/Ml1CgIikHf
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) June 2, 2020

We have had 4 officers struck by gunfire tonight. All have been transported to an area hospital. All are conscious and breathing. Their injuries are believed to be non-life threatening.
Officers are still taking gunfire downtown & we will share more info as it available. pic.twitter.com/Cwypi5EorP
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) June 2, 2020

Trump, in another step undermining his own authority and further proving he is not the ally of the people, posted at a church, while holding a bible after law enforcement officers used teargas and rubber bullets to clear the way for him to walk there after he made his remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

My fellow Americans – My first and highest duty as President is to defend our great Country and the American People. I swore an oath to uphold the laws of our Nation — and that is exactly what I will do… pic.twitter.com/pvFxxi9BTR
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2020

President @realDonaldTrump holds his bible up in front of St. John's church in Washington D.C., which was burned by thugs last night. pic.twitter.com/es7gOkLeiw
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) June 1, 2020

In his address, Trump said that these were not “acts of peaceful protests” but rather acts of “domestic terror” and threatened that the army would be mobilized to curb the violence.

Separately, rioters set fire to a strip mall in Los Angeles, looted stores in New York City.

Trump has condemned the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died after a white policeman pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25^th.

He, however, said that protests shouldn’t be turned into an “angry mob” and that looting and violence would be met with even more severe response.

“Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” Trump said. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

Following the address, Trump walked through an area that had been cleared by police to nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he posed for pictures with his daughter, Ivanka, and U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

It was an absurd charade.

Even the bishop of the Episcopal Church diocese in Washington D. C., Michael Curry criticized Trump for the photo opportunity.

This evening, the President of the United States stood in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, lifted up a bible, and had pictures of himself taken. In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible for partisan political purposes.
— Presiding Bishop Michael Curry (@PB_Curry) June 2, 2020

For the sake of George Floyd, for all who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake of us all, we need leaders to help us to be “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
— Presiding Bishop Michael Curry (@PB_Curry) June 2, 2020

A second autopsy ordered by George Floyd’s family and released on Monday found his death was homicide by “mechanical asphyxiation,” or physical force that interfered with his oxygen supply. The report says three officers contributed to his death.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later released autopsy findings that also called Floyd’s death homicide by asphyxiation.

George Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin, the 44-year-old Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd, was arrested on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Three other officers involved in the arrest have not been charged.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

Donate