Federal, state and local authorities are preparing these days to face an eventual wave of protests or demonstrations in the country once the sentence is known in the trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.
The White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, confirmed this Monday at a press conference that the federal government is in contact with mayors of the main cities and with governors to face what may happen once the ruling is known .
The goal, Psaki said, is to ensure there is room for peaceful protests.
“This country has been through a long period, especially for the black community, of pain and exhaustion,” not only because of this trial but also because of the “additional violence” that has occurred in recent weeks, said the president’s spokeswoman, Joe Biden.
He did not want to advance any opinion on what the jury may fail and pointed out that when this happens the president himself will give his assessment.
Psaki also referred to the controversy sparked by California congresswoman Maxine Waters, who this weekend at one of the rallies held in Minneapolis encouraged protesters to stay on the streets and ignore the curfew.
Although he did not want to directly value Waters’s words, he noted that Biden has always advocated that the protests be peaceful.
And he stressed that “the president has always been very clear” about violence against people of color and is “committed” to ending this “systemic problem.”
Security measures have increased in several American cities given the possibility that the ruling for this trial will occur in the coming days, and although in many it is not perceived, it is not noticed, for example, in central Washington, the authorities they claim to be preparing for eventual protests.
Where security is most visible is, in any case, in Minneapolis, which has become a besieged city these days, with a high police and military presence.