Trump "unequivocally" condemns U.S. Capitol violence one week after riots
13 January 2021
President Trump condemned political violence in a video Wednesday evening exactly one week after a pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol in a deadly siege, and hours after the House voted to impeach him for a second time.
Why it matters: The video, posted to the White House's official Twitter account, came as the president faces an impeachment trial in the Senate and 10 Republicans voted with House Democrats for impeachment.
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Republican colleagues on Wednesday that he has "not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
What he’s saying: "Mob violence goes against everything I believe in, and everything our movement stands for," Trump said. "No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No trues supporter of mine could threaten or harass their fellow Americans. If you do any of these things, you’re not supporting our movement. You’re attacking it, and you’re attacking our country. We cannot tolerate it."
- "America is a nation of laws. Those who engaged in the attacks last week will be brought to justice."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.