Published 11:57 IST, June 20th 2020
'It will be a much different scene than New York': Trump warns demonstrators
Trump issued a warning ahead of his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma saying that any protesters will not be treated the same as they had been in New York, Minneapolis.
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US President Donald Trump on June 19 issued a warning on social media ahead of his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma saying that any protesters will not be treated the same like they had been in New York, Minneapolis, Seattle if they go to his rally to cause disruption. "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters, or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Trump's campaign defended the president's remark saying that what he meant was an action against those who are going to Oklahoma with an intention of looting or causing disruption. Lotter said that the president supports people's right to peacefully protest which is vested upon them by the First Amendment of the constitution. White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany during a press conference also defended Trump saying that the president was not talking about peaceful protesters, what he meant was violent demonstrators who are planning to cause destruction.
US protests
The United States is currently rattled by protests over the brutal killing of an unarmed African-American man George Floyd. Floyd was killed by a Caucasian police officer named Derek Chauvin on May 25 after the latter pinned him down to the ground and pressed his neck with his knee. Video footage of the incident went viral, where Floyd can be heard requesting officers to let him go as he can't breathe. The last words of Floyd became the slogan of nationwide protests against centuries of systematic racial abuse of Black people in the country. Trump's rally in Oklahoma is at Tusla, where 90 years ago in 1929 white supremacists killed over 300 black Americans, which is considered one of the most brutal racist acts against the community in US history.
(Image Credit: AP)
11:57 IST, June 20th 2020