WASHINGTON | Donald Trump has no plans to meet the family of Jacob Blake, an African-American seriously injured by police in Kenosha, during his visit to the Wisconsin town on Tuesday, the White House spokeswoman said on Monday. .
“Right now, (the president’s) agenda is to meet with local law enforcement, business owners and he’ll look at the damage,” Kayleigh McEnany told reporters.
The White House made contact “on one side with the pastor and on the other directly with the family” of Jacob Blake, added the spokeswoman.
“The president is coming to support the battered Americans,” McEnany said.
Jacob Blake, 29, was seriously injured on August 23 in Kenosha when police tried to stop him. As the father entered his car, one of the officers opened fire, shooting him seven times in the back at close range according to a video recording of the scene.
Hospitalized in a facility in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he has the lower half of his body paralyzed.
In Kenosha, three nights of riots followed the shooting, emblematic according to demonstrators of racism and police brutality against the black minority.
Several areas of the city have been the scene of clashes with the police. Cars and businesses have been set on fire or damaged, especially in the center.
The tension peaked when a 17-year-old teenager fired in unclear circumstances on three protesters on Tuesday, killing two.
The arrest of the suspected gunman on Wednesday brought precarious calm to the small coastal town on Lake Michigan.