America Ablaze As Race Riots Spread

Anger over death of george floyd spills across country

- Christopher Bucktin

Overwhelmed and woefully underprepared, America burned as at least 30 cities became engulfed in anger over the death of George Floyd.

A white policeman has been charged with murder and manslaughter after being filmed kneeling on the black man’s neck.

For months the country had been gripped by disease, mass unemployment and an apocalyptic economy but now outrage at the police is all that matters here.

As I stood on the ravaged streets of Minneapolis in the early hours of yesterday, with the thousands of demonstrators protesting Mr Floyd’s fatal arrest, it didn’t take long before their anger once again turned to violence. But they were no longer alone.

Deadly protests broke out in more than 30 US cities from the East to West coasts and forced many to declare states of emergencies.

Two Federal Protective Service officers (private security employed by the Government) were shot – one fatally – in Oakland, California, and at least 7,500 demonstrators took to the city’s streets.

In Detroit, a 19-year-old protester was shot dead by a group of men, while police were seen throwing a 20-year-old woman violently to the floor in New York.

Phoenix, Denver and Houston were all left vandalised as hundreds of people were arrested.