Pence on Floyd: ‘No tolerance for racism’ in US

Vice President Mike Pence on Friday offered prayers for the families of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and said there is “no tolerance” for racism in America.

“We have no tolerance for racism in America. We have no tolerance for violence inspired by racism. And as President Trump said, justice will be served,” Pence said during a trip to Georgia on Friday.

“We also believe in law and order in this country. We condemn violence against property or persons. We will also always stand for the right of Americans to peacefully protest and let their voices be heard,” the vice president continued.

Pence’s remarks punctuated growing uproar over the death of Floyd in Minneapolis police custody earlier this week. Video captured by onlookers showed Floyd, an unarmed black man, pleading with officers that he couldn’t breathe while a white police officer knelt on his neck. The incident has inspired violent protests across the United States.

President Trump, who has called Floyd’s death a “very sad event” and called for a federal investigation into the incident, stoked controversy overnight Friday when he criticized the protesters as “thugs” and threatened military intervention in the city to control the violence.

“Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” the president wrote.

Twitter subsequently placed a warning label on his tweet saying it violated the company’s policies by “glorifying violence,” feeding a growing feud between the White House and the social media giant.

Pence made his remarks Friday during a stop at a minority-owned bank in Atlanta after attending a memorial service for evangelist Ravi Zacharias. Arbery, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot while jogging outside Brunswick, Ga., earlier this month. Three men have been charged in connection with his killing.