President Trump accused a Black Lives Matter activist of treason over his remarks that he would “burn down” the United States if certain reforms do not take place.
“Black Lives Matter leader states, ‘If U.S. doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it’. This is Treason, Sedition, Insurrection!” Trump tweeted on Thursday.
Black Lives Matter leader states, “If U.S. doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it”. This is Treason, Sedition, Insurrection!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2020
His tweet referenced Hawk Newsome, the leader of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. Newsome was asked by Fox News on Wednesday to explain his calls to “burn down” the country’s system. He outraged many, including the president, by refusing to say whether he meant a literal or figurative burning of the country.
“I said if this country doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down the system and replace it. All right? And I could be speaking figuratively, I could be speaking literally,” Newsome said. “It’s a matter of interpretation.”
Newsome made the remarks following weeks of protests against police brutality and racial injustice after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis.
Floyd’s death has triggered many different reactions throughout the country. In Seattle, protesters occupied a “police free” area of the city that they called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, until later renaming the area to the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, or CHOP. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed-off on a Black Lives Matter mural that will be painted across from Trump Tower. Trump condemned both responses in separate tweets.
“When are the thugs, looters, and anarchists moving out of the so-called ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Seattle? Get going!” he tweeted of CHOP.
When are the thugs, looters, and anarchists moving out of the so-called “Autonomous Zone” in Seattle? Get going!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2020
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkin has been vowing to take back the area since it turned violent earlier this week after a fatal shooting. Some protesters have begun to leave CHOP, but the area has not yet been fully recovered.
In his tweet about the Black Lives Matter mural in New York City, Trump claimed that police officers in New York City were outraged by the artwork that will be painted near Trump Tower.
“Told that @NYCMayor Bill de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign. ‘Pigs in a Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon’, referring to killing Police, is their chant. NYC Police are furious!” he tweeted.
Told that @NYCMayor Bill de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign. “Pigs in a Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon”, referring to killing Police, is their chant. NYC Police are furious!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2020
