Rioters busted into CNN's headquarters located in Atlanta Georgia on Friday night where they smashed windows, hurled objects at local law enforcement, and lit police cars into flames, as reported by Dailywire.
Unprecedented disaster
The ongoing riots escalated into a frenzy in a matter of a few hours. They showed the violent protesters forcing police inside the building and throwing one large firework artillery which eventually exploded near local authorities.
CNN correspondent Nick Valencia reported the incident from a lobby inside a CNN Center in Atlanta. Most CNN reporters are now safely out of harm's reach in Washington and New York. The rioters attacked the Atlanta Center with a siege of rocks, smoke grenades, and BB rounds.
The protests calling for the justice of George Floyd's death have spread and escalated in different parts of the country. Several cities near Minneapolis have been placed under curfew to try to curb the surge of violence.
Riot police also arrested one CNN reporter along with his crew after they explained that they were only at the scene to cover the events and were willing to cooperate with local law enforcement.
According to DISRN, a SWAT team protected CNN employees as the rioters violently tried to occupy the building and used smoke bombs aimed at local officials.
Also Read: Trump May Assume Control on Minneapolis Chaos Amid George Floyd Protests
Protests and violence
The death of Floyd in the hands of a police officer caused protests to erupt around the city calling for the suspect’s arrest.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Friday, arrested Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck causing his death.
The Hennepin Country attorney, Mike Freeman, said on Friday afternoon that Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder along with second-degree manslaughter.
Relatives of the victim shared their disappointment with the decision of not charging Chauvin with first-degree murder.
Freeman added that an investigation was started to look into the other three officers who were with Chauvin at the scene on Monday.
The National Guard deployed its troops to support in controlling the violence and restoring order to the city. President Donald Trump added with a tweet saying that violent protesters are thugs and that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” sparking outrage among citizens.
According to ABC News, Trump has backpedaled on his threatening tweet that broke the social media platform’s rules and expressed his grief regarding the death of Floyd and the violent protests that followed.
The US president said he understood the reason behind the protests triggered by police brutality against African-American citizens. He added, however, that this should not lead to violent and lawless anarchy.
Trump expressed his condolences to the family of Floyd, and the careless lost of his life amid avoidable circumstances.
The president said he was not aware of the history of the phrase he used, which dates back to the 1960s police crackdowns on human rights.
Political rivals accused Trump of making the situation worse as days of protests plague the previously peaceful city.
“This is no time for incendiary tweets. It’s no time to encourage violence,” said former vice-president Joe Biden.
