Attorney General William Barr reportedly deployed federal riot teams to Washington, D.C., and Miami to help control unrest that has spread across the country.
Riot teams are being sent from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the FBI directed its Hostage Rescue Unit to assist law enforcement in the nation’s capital, a Justice Department official said, according to USA Today.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Violent protests have rocked D.C. all weekend. As hundreds of protesters gathered outside of the White House on Friday night, the Secret Service rushed President Trump to an underground bunker in the White House.
The protests began after George Floyd, a black man, died in police custody after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Video shows Floyd’s repeated pleas about being unable to breathe go unheeded.
The demonstrations have taken a violent turn, with cities across the country experiencing looting, assaults, and destruction of businesses.
Five thousand National Guardsmen have been activated and sent to cities across the country to help quell the growing unrest.
