US Sec. of Defense: not in favor of using military force to quell protests

WASHINGTON, June 3 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Wednesday he was not in favor of using military force to quell protests staged following the killing of George Floyd, an African-American, by a policeman.
"The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations," Esper told a briefing at the Pentagon.
"We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act," which President Donald Trump threatened to use to deploy army in US cities to end riots which have been ongoing for over a week.
"Let me say upfront, the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman is a horrible crime. The officers on the scene that day should be held accountable for his murder. It is a tragedy that we have seen repeat itself too many times," said Esper.
"Racism is real in America, and we must all do our very best to recognize it, to confront it, and to eradicate it," he added.
Esper's Assistant for Public Affairs Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement they have increased force protection level at the National Capital Region.
Chief of the National Guard Bureau Joseph Lengyel said more than 67,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen were supporting operations considered to be the largest domestic response since Hurricane Katrina.
He added more than 42,000 soldiers still actively doing anti-coronavirus operations.
He said over 18,000 were in 29 States to help law enforcement authorities.
Lengyel said there have been a reduction in violence. "But broadly speaking, we saw sustained or even increasing levels of protests," he added.
After a week of increasingly violent unrest in the US, peace largely prevailed on Tuesday night. Brutal clashes between police and the public seemed to subside, and there were only sporadic reports of looting and other mayhem across the nation.
Still, the night was filled with tension in major cities where tens of thousands of protesters defied curfews to express outrage over racism and police brutality following the death of yet another a black man in police custody. (end) rsr.bs