Pentagon Order Behind Helicopter Fly-Overs That Scared DC Protesters, Reports Suggest

Sputnik News

15:37 GMT 07.06.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Pentagon ordered two Army National Guard helicopters to use a "persistent presence" for crowd control during anti-racism protests in Washington, DC, the New York Times has learned.

The helicopters – one of them bearing a red-and-white cross that signals medical affiliation – were seen on June 1 hovering over protesters low enough to snap a small tree with the downward wind force, according to the New York Times.

The newspaper cited military officials who said that the aggressive approach stemmed from the Pentagon's threat to send in active-duty military units if the National Guard, a reserve force of the US army, could not handle the mob.

Ryan McCarthy, the army secretary involved in authorising the mission, was reported to say that an investigation had been launched into the response. The pilots of one of the helicopters have been grounded pending the result of the probe.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump stated he had ordered National Guard military reserve forces to withdraw from the national capital after stopping anti-racism protests from escalating further.

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