Donald Trump last night threatened to 'assume control' of Minneapolis, warning rioters in the city that 'when the looting starts the shooting starts,' as demonstrators set fire to a police precinct and protests erupted across the States.
Trump had used Twitter to intervene in the carnage which erupted for a third night running following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody after a white officer knelt on his neck while he was filmed gasping and saying: 'I can't breathe.'
The president's incendiary tweet is now hidden by a warning that it violated Twitter's rules about glorifying violence - but the message can be bypassed and the tweet remains live.
Trump's first tweet in the chain accused Minneapolis 'Radical Left Mayor' Jacob Frey of showing 'a total lack of leadership' and warned he was poised to send in troops. This tweet was not hidden by Twitter.
Cops were forced to flee from the burning Minneapolis Third Police Precinct late Thursday when rioters broke in and set fire to the building, roaming through its corridors with baseball bats, axes and torches.
Shocking footage showed flames billowing out of the police station just hours after prosecutors warned there is 'evidence that does not support criminal charges' in the case of the four cops accused of killing Floyd, sparking fears that they will continue to walk free.
A total of 500 National Guard soldiers were deployed to the streets of Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul and Mayor Frey declared a state of emergency as rioting escalated and cars and buildings were torched across the city.
Frey called the looting 'unacceptable' but raged at Trump for 'refusing to take responsibility for your own actions', saying the president 'knows nothing about the strength of Minneapolis'.
Break-off protests over Floyd's death are building across several states, with disturbing footage showing the driver of a black SUV appear to deliberately mow down a Black Lives Matter protester in Denver - where panic also erupted when shots were fired during a march on the Colorado State Capitol.
In New York City, NYPD officers were seen brawling on the ground with protesters as at least 70 people were arrested in the Big Apple.
Protesters in Ohio smashed the windows of the statehouse in downtown Columbus and raided the building and demonstrators damaged a police cruiser in downtown Los Angeles.
Over in Kentucky, seven people were shot in downtown Louisville during a protest demanding justice for black woman Breonna Taylor who was shot dead by cops back in March, as the Floyd case reignited tensions between cops and the African-American community.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Protesters gathered outside the front of the police precinct as it burned in the background
Minneapolis, Minnesota: The silhouette of a man is seen as he walks past a liquor store in flames near the Third Police Precinct
Minneapolis, Minnesota: A wine and spirits store is also on fire during the third night of protests
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Protesters stand on a barricade in front of the police building which was set on fire last night
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Protesters gather in front of the police building with all thought of social distancing forgotten, although some are wearing masks
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Protesters demonstrate outside of a burning fast food restaurant in the early hours of Friday morning on the third night of rioting in Minneapolis
St. Paul, Minnesota: Protests spread across the state with a business in St. Paul seen engulfed in flames
St. Paul, Minnesota: The National Guard has also been deployed to the city as it faces the wrath of rioters
St. Paul, Minnesota: People walk away from the scene while a fire roars inside a business
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