President Donald Trump called on New York City authorities to call in the National Guard to deal with unrest, arson, and looting amid protests over the death of George Floyd.
In calling on New York to activate the Guard, Trump said that “lowlifes and losers are ripping” the city apart. “Don’t make the same horrible and deadly mistake you made with the Nursing Homes,” he said, referring to a controversial state directive that was ultimately scrapped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minutes before, Trump wrote that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo refused his “offer of a dominating National Guard” as the city was “ripped to pieces.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a citywide curfew from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. following destruction in various neighborhoods.
“Last night was a bad night in New York City,” the governor said on Monday. “It’s New York City, where I do believe there are people who use the chaos of the moment. It’s an opportunity. If you want to steal, that’s the night to do it. If you are an extremist group, and you want to preach anarchy, that’s the night to do it.”
Cuomo said that while he stands behind protesters, “there are people who are looking to distract and discredit this moment.”
“The violence and the looting has been bad for the city, the state and this entire national movement, undermining and distracting from this righteous cause. While we encourage people to protest peacefully and make their voices heard, the safety of the general public is paramount and cannot be compromised,” he said in a news briefing.
However, the curfew imposed by the mayor failed to prevent another night of destruction, including arrests after a break-in at the iconic Macy’s store on 34th Street, following protests over Floyd’s death.
As the 11 p.m. deadline to get off the streets approached, bands of protesters marched peacefully through Manhattan and Brooklyn, but police simultaneously responded to numerous reports of roving groups of people smashing their way into shops and emptying them of merchandise.
The doors of Macy’s flagship Manhattan store were breached. Police pulled two handcuffed men out and put them in a van.
People also went into a Nike store and were seen carrying out armloads of clothing. Bank windows were also smashed in the area.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
