Trump news – live: White House defends president's conspiracy theory about protester thrown to ground by police
Republican senators on Capitol Hill have expressed their dismay at a Donald Trump tweet accusing 75-year-old Black Lives Matter protester Martin Gugino of being an “ANTIFA provocateur” and dismissing the viral video in which he is seen being shoved over by police at a George Floyd demonstration in Buffalo, New York, as “a set up”.
“It’s a serious accusation which should only be made with facts and evidence”, commented John Thune of South Dakota, as Utah’s Mitt Romney branded the speculation from the president “shocking” and Alaska moderate Lisa Murkowski observed: “It just makes no sense that we’re fanning the flames right at this time.”
Floyd’s funeral was finally held in his hometown of Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, with Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden and the Reverend Al Sharpton among those paying tribute to the man whose death at the hands of Minneapolis cops sparked a global racial justice movement.
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