Missouri Gov. Parson says Trump wants crack down on criminals, not protesters
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson defended President Donald Trump’s remarks to governors on Monday that they need to toughen their response to civil unrest, saying the president was calling for state and local officials to combat criminal activity, not squelch protests.
Protests have sprung up in cities around the country in the days following the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who died after policeman Derek Chauvin put a knee to his neck for more than eight minutes as he lay prone and handcuffed.
Many of those protests turned eventually turned violent, with police deploying tear gas and businesses being looted.
The president expressed frustration over the response to the unrest on Monday during a video conference call with governors, saying they need to “dominate” or “you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks.”
“It’s a movement. If you don’t put it down, it will get worse and worse,” Trump said. “The only time it’s successful is when you’re weak and most of you are weak.”
Parson, who was on the video conference, said the president wasn’t advocating a crack down on peaceful protesters.
“He was talking about the criminal element of people breaking into businesses,” Parson said. “He said that people need to take the action and resources they have to stop the looting and breaking into private businesses. Stealing. Throwing rocks at police officers. All this is what he was referring to. The criminal activity. He wasn’t talking about protesters who were law abiding protesters.
On Saturday, Parson declared a state of emergency putting the Missouri National Guard and Missouri Highway Patrol at the ready to support local authorities.
Asked what guidance he’s given for dealing with protesters, Parson said he’s leaving those decisions up to Col. Eric Olson of the highway patrol and Brigadier General Levon Cumpton of the national guard.
“They’re well aware of the situation and have been through this before,” he said. “Most of those are seasoned veterans who’ve been through experiences like this. That’s their judgment call.”
He reiterated that citizens have the right to peacefully assemble and protest, but he would have no tolerance for violence.
Parson said he was “deeply saddened” by Floyd’s death. But 99 percent of law enforcement “are doing their jobs and doing what they’re supposed to be doing,”he added.
“Is there bad actors out there? Yes,” he said. “There always has been, just like any other profession. Sometimes you’ll get people who take advantage of an oath they never should have taken advantage of.”
