Trump threatens to deploy military to end protests in U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military if states and cities failed to quell the demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police last week.

"I am mobilizing all federal and local resources, civilian and military, to protect the rights of law abiding Americans," Trump said during a hastily arranged address at the White House.

"Today I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets. Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming presence until the violence is quelled," the U.S. president said.

"If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them," said the president.

Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, an archaic law from 1807 that would allow Trump to deploy active-duty U.S. troops to respond to protests in cities across the country. 

Mass protests and broke out in Minnesota and other U.S. states after a video of Floyd’s May 25 detention was posted online. Floyd, suspected of paying with counterfeit money at a local shop, was handcuffed by a white police officer, who put him to the ground and pressed his knee firmly against his neck. Floyd pleaded that he cannot breathe, but the police ignored him. Floyd died at the local hospital, shortly after the incident. The four arresting police officers were fired on May 26. One of them - Derek Chauvin, the officer who had his knee on Floyd - was arrested on Friday afternoon and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.