The Pentagon has announced an increase in the alert status of some United States military units in order to potentially support Minnesota which is now struggling with civil unrest.
Trump called Esper, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and several senior officials to lay out military options to assist local police in Minneapolis if the situation were to escalate, a senior Pentagon official familiar with the discussions told AP.
Members of the police units were on a 30-minute recall alert early Saturday, meaning they would have to return to their bases inside that time limit in preparation for deployment to Minneapolis inside of four hours.
Minneapolis, Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey said Friday he imposed a mandatory curfew because of ongoing protests regarding the death of George Floyd. On Friday, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the incident.
Protests erupted in Minneapolis this week after video emerged showing a police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck.
1,700 Minnesota soldiers have been deployed to Minneapolis to restore order in the streets after protests have turned into riots, Your Content has learned.
A fire has been set at a gas station near the police department, with reports of several other conflagrations across the city.
One US official said on condition of anonymity that some active-duty military police officers have already been ordered by the military to prepare to deploy if local authorities ask for their help, Reuters notes.
The statute "is deliberately vague" when it comes to the instances in which the Insurrection Act could be used, he said. He estimates that roughly 80% of protesters were out-of-state and said officials will soon release names and background data of people arrested. "We are failing our city again". He said, "for that police station to be abandoned and taken over, I've never seen anything so terrible and stupid in my life".
"Let me say this, weakness is refusing to take responsibility for your own actions", Frey said in response.
