Mayor Bowser Asks Trump To Withdraw Military Presence From US Capital - Letter

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter to US President Donald Trump asking him to withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military personnel temporarily deployed to the US capital to protect the city from riots

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2020) Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter to US President Donald Trump asking him to withdraw all extraordinary Federal law enforcement and military personnel temporarily deployed to the US capital to protect the city from riots.

"I am requesting that you withdraw all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence from Washington, DC," Bowser wrote.

The mayor expressed concern that unidentified federal law enforcement personnel are patrolling the streets of Washington and said that situation poses safety and security risks because it aggravates residents who want to engage in peaceful protests.

"The deployment of federal law enforcement personnel and equipment are inflating demonstrators and adding to the grievance of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for charge and for reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans," Bowser said.

Protests against police brutality and racism erupted throughout the United States following the death of African American man George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25.

A video of Floyd's arrest posted online showed a white police officer pressing on his neck for at least eight minutes as the detainee was kept handcuffed repeatedly saying he could not breathe. Floyd died shortly thereafter.

However, the protests soon turned into riots complete with violence against police and civilians as well as acts of arson, vandalism and looting.