Protests, fires rage through the night in Minneapolis

As protests over the death of George Floyd intensified in Minneapolis on Thursday night, President Trump slammed the demonstrators as “THUGS” on Twitter, threatening military intervention if the situation worsens and suggesting more looting would lead to “shooting.”

“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump tweeted shortly before 1 a.m. Friday, adding, “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

Critics condemned Trump’s tweet, asserting that he was promoting violent retaliation against protesters, and Twitter took swift action, flagging the post for violating rules about glorifying violence. The move is likely to exacerbate the fight between Trump and Twitter this week first sparked by the platform’s decision to place fact-checking labels on two of his erroneous tweets. On Thursday, after days of raging against social media companies, Trump signed an executive order that could punish them for how they police content.

Former vice president Joe Biden said Thursday night that the country must address the “older and deeper” problem of police brutality against minorities to heal from the “open wound” caused by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

“People all across this country are enraged and rightly so,” Biden said at the outset of a virtual fundraiser. “Every day, African Americans go about their lives with constant anxiety and trauma of wondering, ‘Will I be next?’ Sounds like an exaggeration, but it’s not.”

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said Floyd’s death in his encounter with police “ripped open anew this … ugly underbelly of our society.” He said the officers involved must be held accountable.

MINNEAPOLIS — A predominantly young group of protesters descended on the city’s Third Precinct, which had been evacuated by authorities on Thursday night, setting fire to the structure as numerous looters searched smoke-filled hallways for souvenirs.

C’Monie Scott, 22, held up a gun belt complete with dangling handcuffs in one hand, and screamed into a megaphone, “F--- the police!” Scott said none of it would be happening if the city had quickly moved to prosecute the officers involved in the death of George Floyd.

Forest McClarron has heard the cries for peace and the claims that the escalating protests in Minneapolis will only engender more violence. But the 32-year-old in a red bandanna and black face mask doesn’t buy it.

Standing in front of the fires burning outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct station, which protesters stormed after police fled on Thursday night, he said peaceful protests no longer cut it.

“It’s always been peaceful before,” the Minneapolis resident said. “This is the first time I feel like we’re actually taking action, showing our anger.”

Appearing emotional at an early-morning briefing with reporters, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) hit back at President Trump, who called Frey a “weak Radical Left Mayor” on Twitter and threatened to deploy military force if he didn’t “bring the City under Control” as a third straight night of protests rocked the area.

“Weakness is refusing to take responsibility for your own actions. Weakness is pointing your own finger at someone else during a time of crisis,” Frey said at a Friday morning news conference. “Donald Trump knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis. We are strong as hell.”

President Trump slammed the protesters in Minneapolis who breached a police precinct in response to the death of George Floyd, calling the demonstrators “THUGS,” suggesting military intervention and warning that there would be additional violence if looting continued.

“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis,” Trump tweeted around 1 a.m. Friday. He added, “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen.”

The president, in promising the U.S. military would take control of the situation if it escalated, added, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

The City of Minneapolis warned people close to the police precinct that’s been breached by protesters that they should retreat from the area, citing reports suggesting an explosion was possible.

“We’re hearing unconfirmed reports that gas lines to the Third Precinct have been cut and other explosive materials are in the building,” the city tweeted around midnight local time. “If you are near the building, for your safety, PLEASE RETREAT in the event the building explodes.”

As news of the warning spread on the ground, some people began to move away from the precinct. Protesters also worried that a liquor store engulfed in flames across the street could blow up.

A large group of protesters breached the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct station just after 11 p.m. Thursday after officers evacuated the building.

Some demonstrators entered the station as others set fires outside, launched fireworks and chanted “No Justice, No Peace.” Video from inside the building showed demonstrators walking through empty hallways as fire sprinklers soaked desks and office chairs.

A large fire later engulfed barricades outside the precinct and spread into the front of the building. Some protesters grabbed wooden barricades and used them to try to batter open the station’s windows, which are covered with plywood.