Trump says ‘can’t allow anarchy & chaos’ in Minneapolis after speaking with family of George Floyd

US President Donald Trump said he had been in touch with the family of George Floyd – a Minneapolis man killed in police custody – but urged for an end to “lawless anarchy” and rioting sparked by his death.

“We can't allow [protests in Minneapolis] to descend further into lawless anarchy and chaos,” Trump said at a White House event on Friday, adding that “looters” should not be allowed to “drown out peaceful protesters.”

The president also noted that he’d spoken with the Floyd family, who he called “terrific people,” on the heels of two days of intense protests and rioting across Minnesota’s Twin Cities. “I didn’t like what I saw at all. I thought it was a terrible thing, a terrible picture,” Trump said of the unrest.

Trump called on the Department of Justice to expedite the investigation into Floyd’s death, not long after the officer implicated in the incident was charged with murder and manslaughter and taken into custody. Three other officers are still under investigation, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

Responding to criticism that he “glorified violence” amid the protests with a tweet warning that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump argued he was merely describing what happens during chaos and rioting.

“Frankly, it means when there’s looting, people get shot, and they die. And if you look at what happened last night and the night before, you see that,” he said.

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