Another senior former military officer has denounced President Donald Trump’s threat to use troops to suppress ongoing protests in the US. The ex-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Gen Martin Dempsey, told National Public Radio that Mr Trump’s remarks were “very troubling” and “dangerous”.

Mr Trump’s current and former defence secretaries have also spoken out. On Monday, the president threatened to deploy the military to “quickly solve” the unrest if states failed to act. Mainly peaceful protests have spread across the US since the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody last month.

While demonstrations over Mr Floyd’s death appear to be simmering down in the nation’s capital, the White House’s security perimeter has expanded in recent days. Police used batons and tear gas to clear protesters from nearby Lafayette Park on Monday, and have since erected high fences around the White House.(NU)…[+]