Political assassination shocks US ahead of Trump military parade set for Washington

A politically motivated assassination in Minnesota on Saturday sent shockwaves across the US just hours before the start of a major military parade in the nation’s capital.

The killing of former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the wounding of a second state lawmaker, took place in the early hours of a day that was expected to highlight America’s political divisions.

The parade fulfills a long-standing desire of US President Donald Trump, echoing displays more typically seen in countries including China, France and Russia, and coincides with mass protests that were just getting under way across the US.

Trump sparked nationwide outrage just days earlier when he ordered thousands of US Marines and National Guard members to Los Angeles to support law enforcement in response to demonstrations against his immigration enforcement methods. That move further exacerbated the political rift between the president’s supporters and Democrats, who he has vilified as being too soft on those in the US illegally.

The South China Morning Post will run a live blog covering the parade and protests around the US starting at 5:30pm Saturday local time, 5:30am Hong Kong time.

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Trump vows to ‘liberate’ Los Angeles as protests spread to other major US cities

Trump vows to ‘liberate’ Los Angeles as protests spread to other major US cities

Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a statement from the US leader on X, which condemned the “horrific violence” and said the FBI is investigating the deadly violence.