More than half of Americans SUPPORT SENDING MILITARY to aid police in dealing with George Floyd protests – poll

Over 50 percent of Americans would like to see the army deployed to the streets of US cities to help police tackle the riots raging across the country following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

The US has been gripped by a massive wave of protests for over a week, as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to call for justice for the African American man, who was choked to death by a police officer during a detention process.

While it might seem that the nation, or the larger part of it at least, has rallied behind the cause, a large number of Americans admitted they would not object to the military being deployed to aid the police in dealing with the protest actions that have spiraled into riots and violent clashes with law enforcement in many cities.

A poll conducted between May 31 and June 1 by Morning Consult data intelligence company showed that as many as 58 percent of Americans approve of the idea. One third of the respondents “strongly support” it while only a total of 30 percent oppose, to some extent, deploying the troops. The survey relies on a “national sample of 1,624 registered voters” interviewed online. 

At the same time, another poll conducted by the same company over roughly the same period reveals that 54 percent of people in the US support the protests and almost an equal number of them see police violence against the public as a bigger problem than violence against law enforcement officers. African Americans appear to be particularly concerned by police violence; 85 percent of this demographic supported this statement. 

Hundreds of cities in all 50 US states witnessed rallies and demonstrations in solidarity with Floyd and other African Americans killed by police, as people demand justice for the victims.

The cop who killed Floyd has since been fired from the police, arrested, and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. That development, however, did not quell the protests. Many rallies were peaceful. Yet, in many cases tensions spilled over and the demonstrations turned into violent riots, attacks on police and looting.

President Donald Trump has already deployed troops to Washington DC after massive protests near the White House forced it to go on lockdown. He has also threatened to dispatch the military to other states as well.

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