Joe Biden Slated To Visit Kenosha With His Wife Jill Biden
Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden are slated to visit Kenosha on Thursday as tensions surge in the city following the shooting of Blake Jacob, a Black man who was shot by a white police officer. Aside from that, two people protesting his shooting were killed by an armed teenager.
Just two days before Biden's scheduled visit to Wisconsin, Donald Trump toured the destructive impact of the shooting of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times in the back by a white police officer when he tried to get into a vehicle. The city has been agitated over the shooting of Blake and two protesters.
Police have charged 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse in the shooting deaths. Trump warned he would send federal forces back into Portland just a day after he justified the actions of his supporters during a caravan that was followed by the shooting of Aaron "Jay" Danielson, 39, who supported the right-wing group, USA Today reported.
In a meeting with Attorney General William Barr and law enforcement officers in Kenosha, Trump warned they are willing, and able to deploy a massive group of highly trained people. The president claimed that the unrest in Portland can be solved in less than an hour.
Barr made a controversial statement on Wednesday during an interview with CNN when he accused Blake of committing a felony. He said Blake was armed when police officers responded to a disturbance call.
As expected, Blake's comments were denied by Blake's attorneys, who suggest Blake posed no threat, suggesting that Barr had been given wrong information. Protests were relatively quiet in Portland on Tuesday after some demonstrators shattered windows and set a business in the apartment building on fire.
Mayor Ted Wheeler lives in the same upscale apartment building, The Oregonian reported. Wheeler is currently looking for a new home in the wake of repeated demonstrations taking place at his Pearl District condo building, the outlet reported.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell attributed the events to a surge in the street violence that the city has been subject to for several months during protests after the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in May. In L.A., demonstrations didn't stop even on the second day after two sheriff's deputies shot and killed a Black man who was stopped for a bicycle violation.
Biden's visit to Kenosha marks his first visit to Wisconsin in 2020. This will also be his first time a Democratic presidential nominee would be visiting the state since 2012.