Trump says “75-year-old protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur” [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• President Donald Trump expressed on Tuesday that the incident involving a 75-year-old man shoved by Buffalo police officers during a protest was probably a “set-up.”
• Democrats including New York officials Governor Andrew Cuomo and Representative Brian Higgins condemned Trump’s comments.
• While Trump described the death of George Floyd as a “grave tragedy and disgrace,” he continuously advocated the use of massive “police forces” in dealing with the protesters.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday shared an unsupported claim over an incident involving an elderly man being pushed to the ground by Buffalo cops in New York City during a George Floyd-sparked protest. Trump said it could be a “set-up.”

“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment… I watched, he fell harder than was pushed,” the president tweeted, citing a news report from right-wing One America News Network (OANN). 

“Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”

The video of the incident went viral, showing two officers shoving Gugino after he approached them during the protest. The elderly man faltered and fell, hitting his head on the concrete. His blood splurged out while officers just walked away. Gugino is still recovering from the hospital.

Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe, the officers involved in the incident, have pleaded not guilty. According to the police department, Gugino “tripped and fell.”

Trump’s tweet was widely criticized by Democrats, especially New York officials.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “he should apologize for that tweet” during a news conference as he described the president’s remarks as “reprehensible” and “dumb.”

Representative Brian Higgins of Buffalo also responded in a tweet: “There is no room for your hate and division here @realdonaldTrump. We are a community looking to heal. Your words only week to tear us apart.”

There is no room for your hate and division here @realDonaldTrump. We are a community looking to heal. Your words only seek to tear us apart. Stop. https://t.co/F2w29Mnl6G— Brian Higgins (@RepBrianHiggins) June 9, 2020

Few Republicans reacted to Trump’s comments. 

For one, Ari Fleischer, former President George W. Bush’s press secretary, said that Trump’s “penchant for trafficking in conspiracy theories” was “reckless.”

The president backed the conspiracy theory amid the continuous cases of police brutality and racial injustice that sparked the mass protests nationwide over Floyd’s death.

While he condemned Floyd’s killing as a “grave tragedy” and a “disgrace,” Trump has consistently promoted applying massive law enforcement measures against the demonstrators and has urged state officials to use police forces in curbing them out.

Trump dismissed the calls to “defund the police” during a roundtable discussion with law enforcement officials on Monday at the White House. The slogan is used by activists and some progressive lawmakers as an appeal to minimize budget allocation of police power and reconfiguration of existing laws.

Source: The Hill