From Attorney General Maura Healey to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts public officials did not mince words Monday in their criticism of President Donald Trump for threatening to use military force to quell protests that have cropped up throughout the nation following the killing of George Floyd.
Demonstrations have erupted across the United States after Floyd’s death on Memorial Day. The 46-year-old unarmed black man died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
The policeman, later identified as Derek Chauvin, has since been charged with murder and manslaughter.
While many of the protests sparked by Floyd’s death have remained peaceful, clashes between officers and demonstrators as well as looting and vandalism have been reported. Some demonstrations have even turned deadly.
In Boston, 53 people were arrested after three rallies Sunday. Although the protests were largely nonviolent, officials said multiple people threw sticks, fireworks and other objects at officers. Law enforcement hit some individuals with “pepper ball projectiles,” pepper spray and tear gas as well, WBUR reported.
At a press conference Monday, Trump noted that “for George and his family, justice will be served," but he spoke harshly about the violence reported at protests. In recent days, the nation has been ripped apart by mobs, arsonists, looters and others, the president told reporters.
“He will not have died in vein," Trump said of Floyd. “We cannot allow the righteous cries and peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an angry mob.”
The president went on to claim without evidence that a number of state and local governments have failed to take necessary measures to safeguard their residents, noting that he would take “immediate presidential action" to stop riots by mobilizing all available federal resources, “civilian and military."
Trump said he “strongly recommended" that every governor in the U.S. deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers so authorities can “dominate the streets."
"Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” the president 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 to quickly solve the problem for them.”
Democratic politicians in the commonwealth quickly condemned the president’s comments, calling him a “coward," a “tyrant" and a “racist commander in chief." They argued that his words could incite violence and that there is no need for members of the military to take to the streets.
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, was one of the louder critics over social media. The congressman urged men and women in uniform to lay down their arms and “join this new march for freedom" if Trump decides to “abuse the military as a tyrant would do,” to stifle dissent and freedom.
“We are a nation founded in dissent, birthed in freedom, committed to equality, and yet regularly reminded that we struggle to achieve all three. The President has made it clear that the fight for these Constitutional principles is a fight against himself,” Moulton tweeted. “We must therefore, with every ounce of conviction, every commitment to peace, and every glimmer of hope, join in lawful protest to overcome his tyranny.
“Be on the right side of history: the side of patriots, of our Constitution, of our flag, and of our freedom.”
Catherine Clark, a U.S. representative in the 5th District of Massachusetts, noted the president’s response to the country’s “pain and plea for justice” was to threaten citizens with violence.
“This is not a drill. Great nations do fall. We cannot be silent. We cannot rest until this coward is removed from office,” she tweeted.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a long-vocal critic of Trump’s, took to Twitter as well to express her disagreement, saying individuals “will fight for justice for Black lives in America, even if our racist Commander in Chief tries to stand in the way.”
“The President threatened to take over cities and towns with military force. Peaceful protesters were tear-gassed so he could get a photo-op,” she tweeted, apparently referencing Trump’s controversial decision to take photographs in front of a Washington, D.C. church amid protests in the nation’s capital.
Peaceful protesters were forced by federal police to disperse to make way for the president. Though the gathering was legal and the demonstrators nonviolent, authorities used teargas, rubber bullets and flash-bangs on them without provocation, Washington, D.C. Mayo Muriel Bowser claimed.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey wrote in a statement Monday that she was deeply disturbed by the president’s actions, asserting there is “no place” for the United States military on the streets.
“At a time when we need empathy and unity, his rhetoric will only serve to divide people and inflame tensions,” the Democratic prosecutor said. "Now is a time to come together, listen to one another, and do the hard work of building a more equitable Massachusetts.”
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