WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has no plans to meet with the circle of relatives of Jacob Blake, a black man who shot several times in the back through a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he was on his way there Tuesday, the White House announced.
Trump will meet with Kenosha amid intense protests against racial injustice and police brutality to meet with “local police, some business owners and investigate the damage,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday, who added that a detailed schedule would be published later in the day.
McEnany said that before an appearance on “Fox
“We are making outreach efforts, we have not yet been able to connect.Therefore, the plan is far from meeting with law enforcement and pursuing the damage caused by the riots, but we keep your circle of relatives close to our hearts,” he said.
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the Blake family, told MSNBC Monday that he had won “no calls” from the White House.
“My has not won any calls to arrange any kind of meeting,” Crump said.
An assistant to the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, questioned the account and wrote on Twitter that Meadows had personally contacted the circle of relatives on Trump’s behalf and had spoken to the pastor’s circle on several occasions.
Protests erupted last week after video footage showed that police had shot Blake seven or eight times, less than 3 minutes between the time the first officer arrived at the scene and the shooting.Blake, 29, is in critical condition at the hospital and is paralyzed.from the waist down. His children witnessed the shooting.
“He’s devastated to know he can’t move his legs and that his three young children saw his three little kids shoot him in that car,” Crump told MSNBC.
More: A timeline of violence in Kenosha after the police shooting of Jacob Blake
The Ministry of Justice has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, while local and state government has also opened investigations.
When asked about filming a vacation in New Hampshire on Friday, Trump told local media outlet WMUR: “Well, I’m very attentive to the issue.I’ll get reports and actually let you know very soon,” he said.
“It wasn’t a great sight. I certainly didn’t like the view, and I think most people would agree with that.”
The protests were also fatal in the days after Blake’s shooting.a “militia” committed to Kenosha’s protection.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers asked Trump to cancel his trip to Wisconsin amid persistent tensions, but the Democratic governor said he feared the president would incite more violence.
More: Jacob Blake’s circle of relatives reacts to the fact that he was shot dead by police while paralyzed
More: Fact-check: Jacob Blake didn’t brandish a knife, was given a gun before Kenosha police fired
“I am concerned that his presence will only obstruct our healing,” Evers wrote in a letter on Sunday.”I am concerned that your presence will only hold our paintings to succeed over the department and move forward together.”
Trump has turned police protests and urban violence into major issues in his re-election campaign, arguing that a victory by Joe Biden and Democrats would usher in an era of anarchy.
Biden responded by noting that the violence had erupted on Trump’s clock and accused him of stoking the divisions that laid the groundwork for clashes in cities like Portland and Kenosha.
Contributor: Rebecca Morin