US riots continue in major cities across the country. On Monday, President Donald Trump hinted that he might use federal troops to end the violent clashes if the states couldn’t deal with the unrest.
The protests started last week after a police officer killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. The black man was unarmed and apparently didn’t pose any threat.
Trump 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 and quickly
solve the problem for them.”
While demonstrations have been largely peaceful in most
cities, there have been violent clashed with police in New York, Dallas, and
other regions.
On Tuesday, Democratic US Senator Tim Kaine said he would do
whatever needed to make it illegal for the president to use the military against
protesters. Kaine intends to introduce an amendment to the annual National Defense
Authorization Act, or NDAA. The senator said:
“I never thought we would have to use the NDAA to make clear that the US military shouldn’t be used as an agent of force against American citizens who are lawfully assembling.”