The Latest: Trump meets with law enforcement in Kenosha
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake (all times local):
2:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump is meeting with law enforcement officers at a local high school as part of his visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The city saw unrest after a police officer shot Jacob Blake on Aug. 23. A 17-year-old has been charged with killing two demonstrators on Aug. 25. Trump has suggested he was acting in self-defense.
Trump is trying to portray himself as a friend of police and to place Democrats on the defensive. He says he came to thank law enforcement and decried property destruction during last week’s protests, saying, “You don’t have a democracy when then happens.”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has accused Trump of causing divisions that have ignited violence.
Before meeting with law enforcement, Trump stopped at a burned-out store where the smell of smoke still hung in the air. He remarked that the store had been there for 109 years and that “we’re going to help them a lot.”
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN KENOSHA:
Kenosha has seen protests since Aug. 23, when police shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back. On Monday, President Donald Trump defended a 17-year-old supporter accused of fatally shooting two demonstrators in Kenosha on Aug. 25.
Trump is offering himself as the “law and order” candidate and leader best positioned to keep Americans safe. Biden accused Trump Monday of causing divisions that have ignited violence and distanced himself from radical forces involved in altercations.
Read more:
— An AP Fact Check finds misrepresentation at the core of Trump’s statements about the National Guard
— Absent details, police shooting narratives seek to distract
— Two moments of bloodshed a microcosm of U.S. strife
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
1:25 p.m.
An event held at the site where Jacob Blake was shot by a Kenosha police officer has a community block party feel to it, as those attending spoke about showing support for Blake and his family.
Tables were set up Tuesday where attendees could register to vote, get a haircut, get food, or even get tested for the coronavirus. One table was labeled as a craft table, where people could write messages to put in Blake’s hospital room. One table offered reiki healing treatments. A DJ played music nearby.
Blake was shot in the back seven times on Aug. 23 while police responded to a call about a domestic dispute. The shooting sparked protests that turned violent. A 17-year-old is accused of killing two demonstrators on Aug. 25.
Blake’s family hosted the community event Tuesday about 2 miles from where President Donald Trump was visiting to tour destruction caused by the unrest.
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1 p.m.
President Donald Trump has arrived in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he prepares to tour damage from protests and violence that followed the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Trump’s visit comes despite pleas from Wisconsin’s Democratic governor to stay away for fears of sparking further tumult. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson greeted the president when Air Force One touched down in nearby Waukegan, Illinois.
Blake’s family says he’s paralyzed after police shot the 29-year-old Black man seven times in the back. Demonstrators have called for the officer who shot Blake to be fired and face attempted murder charges.
The president has brought along Attorney General William Barr and acting secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf.
Along the motorcade route, a mix of people waved Black Lives Matter signs and many Trump supporters waved Trump 2020 signs.
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12:50 p.m.
An uncle of Jacob Blake says a community event designed to help the city of Kenosha heal is focused on getting justice for “Little Jake,” not on a nearby visit by President Donald Trump.
Justin Blake spoke Tuesday at the site where police shot his nephew in the back seven times on Aug. 23, leaving him paralyzed. Trump is visiting Kenosha to tour destruction caused during unrest that followed the shooting.
Justin Blake says Trump’s comments over the last four years have given police officers an incentive to brutalize Black men like his nephew. He says he doesn’t care about Trump’s motivation for visiting Kenosha. Instead, he’s focused on getting justice and healing the city.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said recent remarks by the president have emboldened and inspired militia members and justified the fatal shootings of two protesters in Kenosha on Aug. 25. He called the president’s comments “polarizing.”
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12:25 p.m.
Several dozen supporters of President Donald Trump have gathered at a Kenosha intersection near damage caused during unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
David Wilson stood in the street in a Trump hat and clutching a Trump campaign banner ahead of a visit from the president Tuesday. The 34-year-old Kenosha resident says he believes outsiders have driven much of the protests and violence that followed the Aug. 23 shooting of Blake.
He says his “hometown should not be proving ground for the rest of the country to do battle in.”
Police shot Blake seven times in the back while responding to a call about a domestic dispute. Family members say the 29-year-old Black man is paralyzed.
A 17-year-old from a nearby Illinois community is charged with fatally shooting two demonstrators on Aug. 25.
Blake’s family is holding a community event about 2 miles away, near where he was shot.
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12:15 p.m.
An uncle of Jacob Blake says the justice system needs to be changed so that Black children can play outside without worrying about being shot by police.
Justin Blake is calling for authorities to charge the officer who shot his nephew on Aug. 23. Police shot Black seven times in the back while responding to a call about a domestic dispute. Family members say the 29-year-old Black man is paralyzed.
The family is hosting a community event Tuesday to call for justice and support rebuilding Kenosha, after unrest last week left parts of the city damaged. The event is being held near where Blake was shot as President Donald Trump is headed to the city to tour destruction that’s about 2 miles away.
Justin Blake says it’s time for Kenosha to heal. He says the family is asking protesters to stand with the Blake family, but remain nonviolent.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson was among those at the event. He said, “This is about direction, not just complexion. Not Black and white, but wrong and right.”
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11 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s heading to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to thank law enforcement and the National Guard “for a job well done.”
The city has seen protests since police shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back on Aug. 23. Blake’s family says the 29-year-old Black man is paralyzed from the waist down. A 17-year-old is accused of fatally shooting two demonstrators on Aug. 25.
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers deployed the National Guard to quell demonstrations. But Trump is taking credit for the deployment, even though his demand that Guard troops be used came a day after Evers had activated them. Trump asserts that Kenosha “would have been burnt to the ground by now” if it weren’t for the National Guard.
Trump also told reporters before boarding Air Force One that he didn’t know if he would speak with a member of the Blake family during his visit.
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9 a.m.
Officials say damage to city-owned property from violence that erupted over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is estimated at nearly $2 million so far.
The city’s public works director, Shelly Billingsley, provided the estimate Monday night on what it would cost to replace garbage trucks, street lights and traffic signals, among other things that were destroyed or damaged over the last week.
Mayor John Antaramian has said the city will request $30 million in aid from the state to help rebuild.
