Rudy Giuliani is calling for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to step down after two nights of looting and violence between protesters and police.
The police-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week set off protests in cities throughout the country. The demonstrations have resulted in hundreds of arrests and millions in property damage.
"Mayor de Blasio needs to step down," Giuliani wrote via Twitter on Tuesday morning. "He is incompetent. We are losing a tremendous amount of property. We are seeing people damaged and hurt.
"Pretty soon, we're going to lose lives if this man doesn't get out of the way and let someone activate the police department!"
Giuliani, who served as NYC mayor from 1994 - 2001, added that de Blasio has "lost control of the mob and of the city" and is "falsely accusing NYPD of taking excessive action."
Mayor de Blasio recently called for an investigation into two NYPD SUVs that were caught on camera driving into crowds of demonstrators in Brooklyn on Saturday. He also called for the badge of an officer who appeared to point his gun at an unarmed protester.
De Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed Tuesday to impose an 8 p.m. curfew in the five boroughs to stem the vandalism.
“The demonstrations we've seen have been generally peaceful. We can't let violence undermine the message of this moment. It is too important and the message must be heard,” de Blasio said.
The NYPD has blamed the mayhem in part on unnamed anarchist groups out to stoke tension between the public and police. On Monday, the department said at least 1 out of 7 protesters they arrested were from outside of New York State.
Giuliani suggested that if de Blasio does not budge from his position as mayor during the crisis, Gov. Cuomo should "remove" him.
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