State leaders rejected President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash the military against Americans protesting the death of George Floyd on Monday, with many accusing Trump of “inflaming” the situation rather than working to reckon with growing national outrage. Attorney General Phil Weiser released a statement on June 2 regarding the president’s threat.
“The constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest is core to our laws and democratic values. Those who would attempt to hijack peaceful protests and engage in illegal activity should and will be held accountable by local and state authorities. It is not necessary, wise, or appropriate for the president to order the military to perform this civilian role,” said Attorney General Phil Weiser.
According to MSN, Gov. Jared Polis (D) released a joint statement with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock condemning Trump’s call for military intervention.
“There is no need for the deployment of U.S. troops to maintain order in our city,” the pair said. “The president’s threat to deploy federal troops is counterproductive and will only stoke the potential for worse violence and destruction. Denver is not Little Rock in 1957, and Donald Trump is not President Eisenhower,” they said, invoking the use of soldiers to protect Black children entering a newly integrated school.
Attorney General Phil Weiser continued in his statement, saying, “The threat to order the military to take over policing in our cities and states is illegal, an abuse of power, and exactly the opposite of what our nation needs. Our states have sovereign authority and the right to exercise the police power under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. If necessary, as we have before, the State of Colorado is prepared to take the federal government to court to defend our sovereignty and the rule of law.”
The unrest began after the May 25 death of Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed, unarmed, and on the ground when a white police officer pushed his knee into his neck for nine minutes. Three other officers with him did not intervene or try to aid Floyd as he died.
“You have to dominate. If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” the president said in a private call which was obtained by HuffPost. “They’re going to run over you. You’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate.”
