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North Dakota Activates National Guard Ahead of George Floyd Protest in Fargo - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The North Dakota National Guard has been sent to the border with Minnesota ahead of a George Floyd protest in the city of Fargo later in the day, ABC News TV channel reported on Friday.
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The event is planned to take place Friday afternoon in the city's Island Park. According to the broadcaster, Governor Doug Burgum decided on Wednesday to activate the troops in light of threats received by the authorities.

"We have a company-sized element from the 131 Military Police Battalion supporting this mission. Roughly 160 Soldiers," a North Dakota National Guard spokesman told the TV channel.

On 25 May, George Floyd, an African American man, died in Minneapolis police custody in the US state of Minnesota. A video of the arrest showed a white police officer pressing his knee onto Floyd’s neck for at least eight minutes while the African American man was kept handcuffed on his stomach, repeatedly saying he could not breathe. The incident sparked protests against police violence and racism in various cities across the US and in other countries.

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