Trump erroneously references Louisville while explaining 'looting leads to shooting' tweet

In a Friday tweet explaining his controversial "looting leads to shooting" comments, President Donald Trump erroneously referenced the seven people shot the previous night in downtown Louisville during a protest over Breonna Taylor's death.

"Looting leads to shooting, and that's why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night - or look what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot," Trump tweeted Friday afternoon. "I don't want this to happen, and that's what the expression put out last night means."

"It was spoken as a fact, not as a statement," the president added in a follow-up tweet. "It's very simple, nobody should have any problem with this other than the haters, and those looking to cause trouble on social media. Honor the memory of George Floyd!" 

Louisville police did not report any looting during the Thursday night protests, though several people were arrested in connection with damage to property and vehicles.

"We did not see looting last night," Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Jessie Halladay told The Courier Journal on Friday. "I don’t know if any reports may have been filed today by businesses reporting any thefts, but in the way looting is generally considered, we did not see that last night."

The death of Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer in Minneapolis pinned him to the ground under his knee on Memorial Day, has resulted in protests and anger not only in Minneapolis but in other cities around the country.

The Minneapolis protests have also featured damage and fires at numerous business and a police building.

The chaotic scenes in Minneapolis resulted in Trump tweeting just before 1 a.m. Friday that he could not "stand back & watch this happen to a great American City."

"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump tweeted, adding that he had spoken to Gov. Tim Walz and told him that "the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

That phrase at the end of Trump's tweet was first used by Miami Police Chief Walter Hedley in 1967, who threatened a crackdown on "hoodlums" he said were taking advantage of the civil rights movement. 

The tweet prompted also Twitter to slap a warning on the pair of Trump's tweets, cautioning users that it violated its policies by glorifying violence. 

So the Republican president followed up with Friday tweet that mentioned the seven shot and wounded during Thursday night's protest in downtown Louisville over the March death of Taylor.

Louisville police say they are still searching for the shooter or shooters, adding that no officers fired their weapons at the protest.

Taylor, a 26-year-old ER tech, was fatally shot in March by Louisville Metro Police officers serving a narcotics-related warrant at her apartment.

No drugs were found in Taylor's apartment following the deadly encounter, and protests, lawsuits as well as independent investigations have since resulted in regards to the actions of the involved LMPD officers.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.