Trump says Black Lives Matter leader committed ‘treason and insurrection’ after threatening to ‘burn the system down’
DONALD Trump accused a Black Lives Matter leader of committing "treason and insurrection" for vowing to "burn the system."
's rant on Thursday was referring to the comments made by , the Chairman of the Greater BLM .
The day before, Newsome was interviewed on about the ongoing civil unrest stemming from 's police custody death.
"If this country doesn’t give us what we want, then . All right?" Newsome told .
"And I could be speaking figuratively. I could be speaking literally. It’s a matter of interpretation."
“Let’s observe the history of the 1960s, when black people were rioting. We had the highest growth in wealth, in property ownership.
"Think about the last few weeks since we started protesting. There have been eight cops fired across the country.”
But the President was incensed by Newsome's statements, particularly his threat to "burn down this system and replace it.'"
"This is Treason, Sedition, Insurrection!" Trump raged on Twitter, before launching an attack on NYC's Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"[I'm] Told that NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign," he wrote – one minute after his BLM rant.
“'Pigs in a Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon,' referring to killing Police, is their chant. NYC are furious!"
Though many demonstrations are peaceful, some have resulted in looting, rioting, and even bloodshed amid the .
During his appearance on Fox, Newsome vehemently defended the protests, which have escalated in cities like Washington DC and , where a 19-year-old in the city's "no cop" zone CHOP last Saturday.
“What is this country rewarding? What behavior is it listening to?" Newsome raged. "Obviously not marching. But when people get aggressive and they escalate their protests, cops get fired, politicians talking about police reform.
“I don’t condone nor do I condemn rioting, but I’m just telling you what I observed.
“We go in and we blow up countries and we replace their leaders with leaders who we like. So for any American to accuse us of being violent is extremely hypocritical."
This week, Trump also blasted the and clashing with law enforcement.
Some associate Confederate monuments with the South's failed bid to keep slavery intact during the Civil War and the is mounting amid over 's brutal arrest in .
Federal troops were reportedly told to protect after a month of BLM protests.
The plan to bring in the US Marshals emerged on Wednesday, as lambasted "looters" toppling these statues.
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obtained an email from Marshals Service Assistant Director Andrew C. Smith, who said they were "asked to immediately prepare to provide federal law enforcement support to protect national monuments."
After slamming the demonstrators at his Arizona student on Tuesday and bragging about arrests after people failed to bring down Andrew Jackson's statue, Trump tackled the tactics of the protesters.
"Very sad to see States allowing roving gangs of wise guys, anarchists & looters, many of them having no idea what they are doing, indiscriminately ripping down our statues and monuments to the past," he tweeted late on Wednesday night.