Twitter said that it blocked a post by Donald Trump on Twitter for policy violation, “regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line”. Below is some more context on the connections associated with it.
Trump's phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" is an unattributed quote of Walter Headley, Miami's police chief in 1967. It was a threat to citizens who were upset that police had terrorized a black teenager by holding him over a bridge: https://t.co/rjklRlXOWn
— Matthew Sheffield (@mattsheffield) May 29, 2020
Twitter has blocked a post by Donald Trump saying that it violates their policies “regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line”.
It said that the tweet’s connection to violence meant there was a “risk it could inspire similar actions today”.
Interesting move by @twitter. pic.twitter.com/LrCs7toWNW
— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) May 29, 2020
The tweet from Trump said that “thugs” were dishonoring the memory of George Floyd. The last line said said that when “looting starts, shooting starts”.
We have placed a public interest notice on this Tweet from @realdonaldtrump. https://t.co/6RHX56G2zt
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) May 29, 2020
Protesters torched a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the US over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck.
A police spokesman confirmed late Thursday that staff had evacuated the 3rd Precinct station, the focus of many of the protests, in the interest of the safety of our personnel” shortly after 10 p.m.
Livestream video showed the protesters entering the building, where fire alarms blared and sprinklers ran as blazes were set.
Protesters could be seen setting fire to a Minneapolis Police Department jacket.
The Guardian’s Chris McGreal has been on the ground and said that there were still people “milling around”.
He said: “Every now and then someone shouts ‘national guard is coming’ and panic ensues and groups run but mostly it is just people standing around watching buildings burn and occasionally groups of mostly young men targeting different buildings.”
He said there were half a dozen buildings still burning and thousands still around, although he noted the crowd had thinned out. “It’s now 2am or so and there is still extensive looting going on, people continuing to break into businesses.”
However, he added that the “atmosphere has deteriorated”, although earlier it became more aggressive with crowds leaving as they were getting fearful. There is still no sign of law enforcement.
Inside Target opposite the 3rd precinct police station #GeorgeFloydprotest pic.twitter.com/uef6bJoNHC
— Chris McGreal (@ChrisMcGreal) May 29, 2020
“People are turning up in cars but most of the really big stores have been comprehensively looted by now … I would expect people to be protesting for days to come and the big question is will they send the police out?,” he added.
Local health clinic hit too. Windows smashed, electronics snatched, now flooding #GeorgeFloyd #minneapolisriots pic.twitter.com/JkdWN1ewQW
— Chris McGreal (@ChrisMcGreal) May 28, 2020
Around the area is a residential neighbourhood and the fire brigade has turned up to put out fires on the edge of that area. But other areas have just been left to burn. “It is unusual [for the police to evacuate]. I was in Ferguson six years ago during the Michael Brown protest and looting and police did not pull out and it is unusual for them to just simply abandon an area,” he said.
Among those businesses looted it a medical clinic, as well as a Target store which was looted for fizzy drinks and snacks that were then piled up in a carpark by protestors and given to those who needed. “It became an unofficial market for protestors,” McGreal said.
Source: The Guardian
