Trump supporters branded 'revolting' after being filmed mocking George Floyd's death
10 June 2020, 18:24
Trump supporter mocks George Floyd death in New Jersey
A group of Donald Trump supporters have been called "revolting" for mocking the death of George Floyd as peaceful protesters passed by in New Jersey.
A group of men have sparked outrage after their reenactment of the death of Mr Floyd was caught on camera on Monday.
Two of them have been identified as brothers Jim and Joe DeMarco from Franklinville, New Jersey.
The original video has amassed more than 400,000 views and appears to show one man kneeling on another in the same way that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin did while arresting Mr Floyd on 25 May.
Jim, who worked for FedEx and is believed to be the man kneeling, has since reportedly been fired from his job while Joe, believed to be off to the side filming, has been suspended from his role as a corrections officer.
Lexi Fagotti, who uploaded the footage to Twitter, expressed her disgust at seeing the pair mimicking the 46-year-old's death.
She said: "Just would like to speak about how disgusting, racist and evil people can genuinely be.
"Couple of Franklinville trump supporters mocking the tragedy of George Floyd. Twitter, do your thing please.
"This is unacceptable and disturbing."
Two other men can be seen standing nearby with one appearing to be filming the demonstration as it passed by the drive.
In the background, a pickup truck draped in an American flag and a Trump banner can be seen next to another vehicle with a 'thin blue line' flag which supports US law enforcement workers.
Separate social media posts also appear to show an 'All Lives Matter' sign, a slogan associated with critics of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.
Police vehicles can be seen escorting the demonstrators through the street.
George Floyd, a black man, was killed when a white police officer knelt on his neck while he was in police custody for almost nine minutes on 25 May. The 46-year-old was later pronounced dead.
His death sparked demonstrations across cities and towns in the US and spread worldwide as people protested police brutality and racial inequality in society.
The New Jersey Department of Corrections released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying they were made aware that one of its officers participated in the filming of a "hateful and disappointing video that mocked the killing of George Floyd."
"The individual has been suspended from their post and banned from NJDOC facilities pending a thorough and expedited investigation,' the statement said.
It confirmed he was a senior corrections police officer who joined the Corrections Department in March 2002 and worked at a youth detention facility in Bordentown until January 2019, before moving to the Bayside prison in Leesburg.
The man, identified as Jim, could be heard shouting at the protesters: "He's dead because he didn't comply."
FedEx holds its team members to a high standard of personal conduct, and we do not tolerate the kind of appalling and offensive behavior depicted in this video. The individual involved is no longer employed by FedEx. We stand with those who support justice and equality.
— FedEx (@FedEx) June 9, 2020
FedEx released a statement on Twitter, saying: "The behaviour depicted in the video, which involved a FedEx employee, is appalling and offensive.
"The employee in question was immediately removed from all FedEx work duties while our investigation is concluded and all internal procedures are followed."
A later tweet offered an update on the issue: "FedEx holds its team members to a high standard of personal conduct, and we do not tolerate the kind of appalling and offensive behaviour depicted in this video.
"The individual involved is no longer employed by FedEx.
"We stand with those who support justice and equality."
A statement from Police Chief Brian Zimmer and Mayor John Bruno said they were "appalled and saddened by the revolting actions of certain individuals."
Governor Phil Murphy condemned the stunt on Twitter, saying the state won't "let the actions of a few distract from our progress toward dismantling systemic racism."
"Mocking George Floyd´s murder in an effort to belittle the calls for justice from our Black and Brown communities is repugnant," Gov Murphy tweeted.