Donald Trump appears to gloat about riot at CNN's Atlanta HQ
Donald Trump gloats about riot at CNN’s Atlanta HQ as he retweets supporter who said attack was’ironic’ because it was carried out by ‘the very riots they promoted as noble’
- President retweeted post showing clip of rioters outside CNN center in Atlanta
- Post by Trump supporter said it was ‘ironic twist of fate’ that CNN was targeted
- CNN was accused in the post of ‘promoting riots as noble and just’
- The initial tweet was posted by a Trump-supporting Twitter user, Melissa A.
- Protesters hurled objects at the building, causing damage to CNN center
- One police officer was hurt during the standoff on Friday
- Earlier on Friday, a black CNN reporter was arrested during Minneapolis protest
- Omar Jimenez, the reporter, was handcuffed on live television by the police
- Protests and riots reported nationwide in wake of death of George Floyd, 46
- Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday evening
- Officer was filmed pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck, suffocating him
President Trump on Friday retweeted a Twitter post suggesting that CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta was being damaged by rioters that the cable news giant itself encouraged as the nation is engulfed in protests over the death of a black man at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
‘In an ironic twist of fate, CNN HQ is being attacked by the very riots they promoted as noble & just,’ the caption of the tweet read.
‘Oops.’
The tweet, which included video footage of protesters spraying graffiti and shattering glass at the entrance to the CNN center in Atlanta, was posted by a supporter of the president.
President Trump (above) on Friday appeared to gloat over the rioting which caused damage to CNN headquarters in Atlanta
Trump on Friday retweeted a Twitter post from one of his supporters who said the incident was an ‘ironic twist of fate’ given that CNN was ‘attacked by the very riots they promoted as noble and just’
A massive crowd gathered outside CNN headquarters in Atlanta to protest the police-involved death of George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis on Monday
The Twitter account belongs to a woman who identifies herself as Melissa A.
The avatar shows a photo of an African American woman wearing a red Make America Great Again hat.
The cover image on her Twitter page shows her posing with the president.
Her Twitter bio describes her as a ‘Conservative, Trumpublican, Wife, mother and Child of the Most High God.’
She also writes that she was ‘Retweeted By President Trump.’
Chaos exploded in Atlanta as demonstrators vandalized and tried to storm the CNN building with at least one cop injured while a fire broke out near Centennial Olympic Park.
The CNN headquarters bore much of the brunt of the outrage as demonstrators vandalized the media firm’s logo, scrawled profanities on the building and smashed up its windows.
A standoff between cops and protesters escalated into the night outside the CNN Center as dozens of cops formed a barricade while protesters hurled objects at the building.
A smoke bomb was hurled at police at one point and one officer was reportedly injured after they were struck by a missile of some sort.
Atlanta: The CNN headquarters bore some of the brunt of the outrage as demonstrators vandalized the media firm’s logo, scrawled profanities on the building and smashed up its windows
Atlanta: This came just hours after black CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested on live on air Friday morning by Minnesota State Patrol while covering the Minneapolis protests
Atlanta: Police cruisers were set on fire as hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Atlanta
This came just hours after black CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested on live on air Friday morning by Minnesota State Patrol while covering the Minneapolis protests.
Jimenez was put in handcuffs and led away from his team of producers this morning at 5.11am CT after the team was moved down the street by police in riot gear.
According to one of his colleagues, the crew was told he was being arrested for refusing to move when he’d been told to but he was heard live on air telling the officers: ‘Put us back to where you want us – wherever you’d want us we’ll go. Just let us know.’
Jimenez told them they were live on air with CNN and was put in handcuffs.
The Atlanta protest began peacefully before it descended into chaos when some demonstrators hurled bricks, bottles and milk cartons at police cruisers.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms slammed their actions at a press conference Friday, saying: ‘If you care about this city then go home.’
Trump has long viewed CNN as an enemy, criticizing it as ‘fake news’ and claiming that it has an agenda to undermine his presidency.
Riots and protests were reported all across the country late on Friday, including right outside the president’s residence in Washington, DC.
Atlanta: A police cruiser is engulfed in flames outside the CNN HQ while protesters watch
Atlanta: Rioters scrawl ‘oink’ on the windows of the CNN HQ which was under siege Friday night
Atlanta: Protesters burn an American flag outside the CNN Center on Friday
Atlanta: A police car burns after protesters marched to the Georgia State Capitol and returned to the area around the Centennial Olympic Park and CNN center
Atlanta: A man hurls rocks through the windows of the CNN HQ in Georgia
The White House was forced to go into temporary lockdown as protesters tried to scale the walls, battled with Secret Service agents and burned American flags.
Dramatic footage showed protesters ripping a metal barricade out of the hands of Secret Service agents.
Looting and fires broke out again in Minneapolis as protesters defied the state curfew and the National Guard failed to keep the city under control.
This came after three nights of carnage in the city that have seen one suspected looter shot dead, cops forced to flee a police precinct as it was stormed and set alight by rioters and the city left in tatters.
In New York City, police officers were forced to defend a police precinct in Brooklyn amid fears it would be stormed and torched, while shocking footage showed an NYPD officer hurling a female protester to the ground.
The NYPD clashed fiercely with protesters on Friday night as thousands of cops took to the streets and hundreds of protesters descended on the 88 precinct in Brooklyn as night fell.
Atlanta: Police form a barricade inside the building as a rioter hurls a firecracker at them
Atlanta: A man holds a Black Lives Matter banner as the air fills with smoke
Atlanta: A man is detained by police during the protest. Tensions have mounted in the state after Floyd’s death which comes less than a month after footage of Ahmaud Arbery being killed by a white cop in Georgia also sent shockwaves
Atlanta: After a march to the Georgia State Capitol, protesters confront police officers after returning to the area around the CNN center in Atlanta
Outside the Barclays Center stadium in Brooklyn, a peaceful protest turned violent when NYPD officers sprayed mace into the crowds while demonstrators set fire to banners and pushed to break through metal barricades.
The crowds moved toward the 88th precinct with officers forced to defend the station for fear of similar scenes to those seen at the precinct in Minneapolis Thursday – where cops were forced to flee when protesters stormed the building, set it alight and cut off the gas lines.
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