“We can come together without him.” The former head of the Pentagon Mattis accused trump of violating the Constitution

The use of the army to quell civil protests in the United States is a violation of the constitutional rights of Americans. This column, published on the website of The Atlantic, wrote a marine General, ex-Minister of defense James Mattis.

The publication notes that Mattis has resigned from the post of head of the Pentagon in December 2018 because of disagreement with the decision of the President of the United States Donald trump on the withdrawal of troops from Syria and since then has not commented on the actions and policies of the President.

The former Minister wrote a column in which has sharply condemned the policy of the US President against the protesters, after the announcement of trump’s intention to use the army to quell the unrest.

“When I joined the army about 50 years ago, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. I never thought that the military, giving the same oath, may receive an order to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens,” said Mattis.

According to him, the Federal government should not use the army to suppress the protests, as this creates “artificial conflict between the military and the society that they are sworn to protect and part of which are”.

“Donald trump is the first President in my life who is not trying to unite the American people – and not even pretend. Instead, he is trying to divide us,” – said the former head of the Pentagon.

He noted that the current situation was the result of “three years without a Mature leadership.”

“We can unite without him, building on the strengths of our civil society. It will be difficult, as shown by the last few days, but we owe it to our fellow citizens, to previous generations who shed their blood to defend our values and our children. … Just taking a new path, which, in truth, is only a return to our original path, we will again become a country which is admired and respected at home and abroad”, – concluded Mattis.

Protests in the US began after may 25 after a tough police detention in Minneapolis died African American George Floyd. Forensic examination confirmed that the death was caused by strangulation. The patrol suspected Floyd that he paid with a fake $ 20 bill.

On may 29, police officer Derek Shovina, which used a rear naked choke against Floyd, was arrested. 3 Jun charges forward and his three colleagueswho participated in the arrest.

Subsequently, the protests spread to almost the entire country. The authorities took the decision to bring the national guard to suppress riots in several cities. 1 Jun Donald trump has said that he can bring the armed forces to disperse the protesters, under the act of 1807. Acting Minister of defense mark Esper opposed this idea.

In clashes in nine States, killed 11 people, among them – both police and demonstrators.