US Defense secretary: Officers at scene of Floyd's death should be 'held accountable for his murder'
Although rallies on behalf of Floyd and other victims of police brutality have been largely peaceful during the day, after dark each night crowds have turned to rioting, vandalism, arson and looting
Protesters plan to stage sit-in on Capitol Hill
More than 1,000 people are peacefully protesting police brutality outside the US Capitol.
You can hear chants of “this is what democracy looks like” and “take a knee," as well as "we are not a threat,” reports the CNN.
Most people are wearing masks.
The protesters gathered earlier this morning at Freedom Plaza before walking over to the Capitol building. On the way you could hear chants of "George Floyd" and "Black Lives Matter."
The protesters plan to stage an outside sit-in which will also include speeches until about 3:00 p.m. ET, according to a schedule from the organizers.
US Defense secretary: Officers at scene of Floyd's death should be 'held accountable for his murder'
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper called the killing of George Floyd a “horrible crime” and said the officers on the scene that day should be "held accountable for his murder."
"Let me say upfront, the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman is a horrible crime. The officers on the scene that day should be held accountable for his murder. It is a tragedy that we have seen repeat itself too many times," Esper said while speaking during a media briefing at the Pentagon., reports the CNN.
Esper said, “racism is real in America, and we must all do our very best to recognize it, to confront it, and to eradicate it.”
Iran's Khamenei says Floyd's killing exposes real nature of US
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the killing of George Floyd in police custody had exposed the true nature of the rulers of the United States.
"The crime committed against this black man is the same thing the US government has been doing against all the world," Khamenei said in televised speech. "This is the US government's true nature and character that is being exposed today."
US cities have seen widespread demonstrations, some of them violent, since Floyd, a black man, died after being pinned to the ground by a white policeman in Minneapolis last week. The police officer has been charged with murder.
"In dealing with its people, the US government has behaved in the worst manner. The people of the United States have every right to feel embarrassed and ashamed by their governments, particularly the current one," Khamenei said.
'The only thing that I can tell her is he couldn't breathe' : Mother of George Floyd's daughter
The mother of George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter Gianna said she struggled to tell the little girl how her father died.
"She was standing by the door, and she said, 'Mama, something's going on with my family.' And I say, 'Why do you say that?' She said, 'Because I hear them saying my dad's name on TV.' She wanted to know how he died. And the only thing that I can tell her is he couldn't breathe," Roxie Williams said in an interview, reports the CNN.
In a video shared on Instagram, Gianna sat on former NBA player and Floyd's friend Stephen Jackson's shoulders and said, "Daddy changed the world!"
In the interview, Jackson, as well as attorney Chris Stewart, said Floyd moved from Houston to Minneapolis for work to provide for his family.
"We have to get convictions," Jackson said.
'No justice, no peace': Thousands gather in London after death of Floyd
Thousands of people chanting “no justice, no peace” and “black lives matter” gathered in central London on Wednesday to protest after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Reuters reporters said.
Many of the protesters wore red and face masks. Some waved banners with slogans such as: “The UK is not innocent: less racist is still racist” and “Racism is a global issue”. Others chanted “George Floyd” and “Black lives matter”.
Some chanted expletives about US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Floyd died after a white policeman pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25, reigniting the explosive issue of police brutality against African Americans five months before the November presidential election.
German government says George Floyd's death was 'appalling and avoidable'
Germany's government is “shocked by the death of George Floyd” in the United States.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson made the statement on Wednesday, reports the CNN.
During a regular government news conference, Steffen Seibert said: “The death of George Floyd (...) shocked people in Germany and all over the world, it shocked the federal government too.”
“It is an appalling and avoidable death that shakes you up. We in the federal government are following closely what is happening in America right now.”
Seibert went on to say: “We hope that this violence ends and we hope that the many wise and humane voices that exist in America too, those who are peacefully working for improvements (...) who are striving to end racism, are being heard.”
“I am sure there is racism in Germany too,” Seibert added, saying “every society, including ours, is called upon to continually work against this.”
Atlanta college students recount being tased by police: 'I don't want that for anyone else. This is disgusting.'
Two college students said they were traumatized after police used tasers and dragged them from a vehicle at a protest on Saturday night.
The six Atlanta police officers are being charged with using excessive force, according to officials, reports the CNN.
The officers were filmed in downtown Atlanta breaking windows of a vehicle, yanking a woman out of the car and tasing a man. The two victims were later identified as college students at Spelman and Morehouse, both historically black schools, and were returning from protests calling for an end to police violence against black citizens.
Taniyah Pilgrim, the Spelman College student, said she thought she might be killed in that moment. “I was thinking, OK, this is the end,” she said.
Morehouse College student Messiah Young said that he has not yet watched the video of the incident. “I’m not trying to relive that moment at this point. It's a little too much right now, and I’d rather, you know, just recover, honestly,” he said.
“It’s probably one of the hardest moments that I've had to face in my life. I just can't even fathom what happened. At this point, I'm just so far gone, it's like I'm trying to remove myself from that situation, but it’s really hard to cope with,” Young said, growing emotional.
'We need him to start being bold' : Young voters are craving inspiration from Joe Biden
Joe Biden struggled to win over young voters in the Democratic primary.
Now, as the 77-year-old turns his sights to the general election, many young people - a number of whom rallied behind some of his more progressive rivals in the primary - want to see if the presumptive Democratic nominee can give them the inspiration and bold change that they crave, reports the CNN.
Ja'mal Green, a 24-year-old activist from Chicago, said young people want "a candidate who is going to change their lives." Green was in Minneapolis over the weekend protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody after a white officer kneeled on his neck.
"What it all boils down to is: Can Joe Biden be bold for America? We need him to start being bold," Green said.
"What is he going to do to about police shooting people because of the color of their skin?"
Green supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 primaries, and pointed to criminal justice reform, "Medicare for All," the climate crisis and the elimination of student debt as key issues for young voters.
If Biden does not move to the left on these issues, Green said he and young people on the left of the political spectrum "won't support either candidate."
Biden has in recent weeks ramped up efforts to engage young voters.
The US could see a second wave of Covid-19 infections because of the protests
US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams warned the nation to expect new outbreaks of coronavirus resulting from the George Floyd protests that have seen thousands of people gather in close proximity.
"I remain concerned about the public health consequences both of individual and institutional racism (and) people out protesting in a way that is harmful to themselves and to their communities," Adams told Politico in an interview published Monday, reports the CNN.
"Based on the way the disease spreads, there is every reason to expect that we will see new clusters and potentially new outbreaks moving forward," he added.
The US hasn't even contained its current outbreak, let alone prepare for a second wave. The nation is still seeing about 20,000 new cases of Covid-19 every day.
Some states are doing better than others -- but the entire West Coast is still seeing its infection rate tick upward, as well as South Carolina, which was one of the first states to start reopening.
‘Blackout Tuesday’ posts draw support, skepticism in music industry
A work stoppage campaign started by the music industry in solidarity with anti-racism protests has bloomed into a social media phenomenon featuring posts of black squares accompanied by somber messages and campaign hashtags.
Music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang hatched the idea to pause business as usual on Tuesday, June 2, “in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard,” reports AFP.
Coming amid mass demonstrations over the police killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, the campaign gained traction among major music labels and production companies as well as celebrities.
Rihanna, Drake and Kylie Jenner have posted the stark black images on their Instagram feeds.
The Rolling Stones, Quincy Jones and Billie Eilish also said they would observe the day.
But as the black squares proliferated on social media, many activists warned that the images were overwhelming BlackLivesMatter posts that provide organizing information, resources and documentation of the protests over racist police brutality.
“When you check the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, it’s no longer videos, helpful information, resources, documentation of the injustice, it’s rows of black screens,” said singer Kehlani on Instagram.
Activists instead recommended tagging the posts #BlackOutTuesday.
The movement began as a recognition of the music business’ history of profiting off of black artists, traditions and communities without paying them credit.
But some critics said that message risked being diluted by brands and individuals seeing an opportunity to promote themselves.
“i know y’all mean well but… bro saying stop posting for a day is the worst idea ever,” tweeted rapper Lil Nas X.
“i just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever. i don’t think the movement has ever been this powerful. we don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. we need to spread info and be as loud as ever.”
A number of widely shared posts encouraged social media users not to turn the moment into one of virtuous self-promotion — but instead use platforms to promote and uplift black community members instead.
Bandcamp, a platform for musicians to share and earn money off their art, vowed to donate its share of sales made on Juneteenth — a June 19 holiday commemorating the emancipation of African Americans from slavery — to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, a racial justice organisation.
The company also said it would spend $30,000 a year on partnering with civil rights organisations.
“The current moment is part of a long-standing, widespread, and entrenched system of structural oppression of people of color, and real progress requires a sustained and sincere commitment to political, social, and economic racial justice and change,” Bandcamp said.
China hopes the US will take 'concrete' measures against racial discrimination
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has again voiced its hope that the United States will take "concrete" measures against racial discrimination.
"We hope the US government will take concrete measures to fulfil its obligations under the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination to protect the legal rights of minorities," Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, said Wednesday, reports the CNN.
China "always opposes racial discrimination," Zhao told a regular Ministry of Foreign Affairs press briefing.
Traditionally, Beijing has portrayed racism as a Western problem. But China itself has come under heavy criticism in recent weeks for its treatment of Africans in the country.
Last month, many Africans were subject to forced coronavirus testing and arbitrary 14-day self-quarantine in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, regardless of their recent travel history, and scores were left homeless after being evicted by landlords and rejected by hotels under the guise of various virus containment measures.
Pope calls death of George Floyd 'tragic' and says racism is a sin
Pope Francis spoke out on Wednesday morning in the Vatican about the "tragic" death of George Floyd.
Francis added that he is praying for the “repose of the soul of George Floyd and of all those others who have lost their lives as a result of the sin of racism”, reports the CNN.
Speaking at his weekly Angelus prayer, the Pope said, “Dear brothers and sisters in the United States, I have witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest in your nation in these past days, following the tragic death of Mr George Floyd," he said.
“My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life. At the same time, we have to recognize that the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost."
Trump defends photo-op outside church
US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to stage a photo-op outside a historic church that was caught up in the protests in Washington DC.
Police cleared a peaceful protest close by to the church with tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday evening. Moments later, Trump was pictured holding a Bible outside the church, reports BBC.
However, in a tweet on Tuesday, Trump said: "You got it wrong!
Trump angers American religious leaders with Bible photo op
American religious leaders on Tuesday castigated Donald Trump for posing in front of a church holding a Bible after peaceful protesters were violently cleared from the surrounding area.
“It was traumatic and deeply offensive, in the sense that something sacred was being misused for a political gesture,” Washington’s Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde said on public radio station NPR, AFP reported.
The Republican billionaire, whose supporters include many evangelical Christians, used “the symbolic power of our sacred text, holding it in his hand as if it was a vindication of his positions and his authority,” she said.
The historic St John’s Episcopal church is across the street from Lafayette Park, which faces the White House and has been the epicenter of the protests in Washington since Friday.
The church was defaced with graffiti and damaged in a fire during a demonstration on Sunday night.
On Monday protesters were demonstrating there peacefully when law enforcement including military police used tear gas to disperse them — clearing a path for the president to walk from the White House to the church for the photographs.
The protest was televised, and the backlash as the images spread was swift and furious.
“The protest at that point was entirely peaceful,” Budde said. “There was absolutely no justification for this.”
Other Episcopalian leaders denounced Trump’s visit to the church as “disgraceful and morally repugnant.”
“Simply by holding aloft an unopened Bible he presumed to claim Christian endorsement and imply that of The Episcopal Church,” bishops from New England said in a statement.
New York night-time curfew extended to June 7 after looting
New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday extended a night-time curfew for the city until June 7 following outbreaks of violence and looting during anti-racism protests gripping America.
The mayor added that the deployment of National Guard soldiers, seen in other protest-hit states and demanded by President Donald Trump, was not necessary however, AFP reports.
De Blasio told reporters that a 8:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew, due to come into force Tuesday, would now run until Sunday.
It comes after a curfew on Monday that began at the later time of 11:00 pm failed to deter rioters from looting a number of luxury stores across Manhattan.
Broken glass and boarded up shops were seen across Midtown early Tuesday after a night of carnage.
The famous Macy’s department store, Michael Kors on Fifth Avenue, along with Nike, Lego and electronics shops were among upmarket shops to be looted.
Trump, whose New York home is near the stores, took to Twitter twice on Tuesday morning to demand that local leaders “act fast” and call up the National Guard.
Several US cities have deployed the guard in the face of angry protests against police brutality following the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd by police during an arrest in Minneapolis last week.
But De Blasio said the New York Police Department’s 36,000 officers could handle the unrest.
“We will take steps immediately to make sure there will be peace and order,” said a visibly angry mayor, as he announced the lengthened curfew.
De Blasio added it was not “wise” to bring in the National Guard.
But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the guard stood ready if requested, adding that the NYPD and de Blasio “did not do their job” in failing to stop the looting.
He described the violence as “a disgrace” and “inexcusable.”
New York’s curfew will end just as the city prepares to begin reopening its shattered economy on Monday following more than two months of lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Soldiers deployed to Washington DC area
Some 1,600 active duty soldiers have been diployed in the Washington DC area over the past 24 hours, the Pentagon says.
The move is a "prudent planning measure in response to ongoing support to civil authorities operations", a spokesman said, reports BBC.
These soldiers - who were moved from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York - are not currently in DC but are "postured on military bases in the National Capitol Region".
The move was authorised by Defence Secretary Mark Esper.
#BlackOutTuesday sweeps social media as US street protests escalate
The hashtag #BlackOutTuesday became the top trending item on Twitter as hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals, including TV channels and celebrities, posted black screen shots to signal support for racial justice as street protests over the police killing of George Floyd entered a second week.
Many companies paused normal work and directed their efforts to support the work of Black Lives Matter and other social justice groups, reports Reuters.
Streaming service Spotify highlighted the music of black artists, Sirius XM Radio said it would silence its music channels for three minutes, and Apple Music DJ Zane Lowe tweeted that he wouldn’t host his radio show but would be “listening, learning and looking for solutions to fight racial inequality.”
The death last week of Floyd, an unarmed black man, as a white police officer in Minneapolis pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck, unleashed a wave of outrage in cities around the United States about the treatment of black Americans, further polarizing a country politically and racially.
The Blackout Tuesday movement was prompted by two US record industry executives to pressure the music business to improve the presence of black people in its corporate ranks, noting that the industry had “profited predominantly from black art.” Rap and R&B overtook rock in 2017 to become the biggest music genre in the United States.
The movement was quickly embraced by record labels, celebrities including Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and basketball player LeBron James and ordinary Americans.
It also gave rise to dissenters. Black Lives Matter complained that news of its planned protests had been drowned out, while film executive Franklin Leonard said he would not be taking part.
ViacomCBS said it will be “on pause” on Tuesday, a day after CBS News, MTV and Comedy Central went dark for 8 minutes and 46 seconds - the length of time Floyd’s neck was pinned to the ground by the knee of a police officer.
Protesters defy curfews in major US cities to march against police brutality
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of major US cities on Tuesday for an eighth consecutive night of protests over the death of a black man in police custody, defying pleas by mayors, strict curfews and other measures meant to curtail them.
Major marches took place in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta and New York City as well as in Washington, DC, near the park where demonstrators were cleared on Monday to make a path for President Donald Trump so he could walk from the White House to a historic church for a photo, reports Reuters.
Although rallies on behalf of Floyd and other victims of police brutality have been largely peaceful during the day, after dark each night crowds have turned to rioting, vandalism, arson and looting. On Monday night, five police officers were hit by gunfire in two cities.
Outside the US Capitol building on Tuesday afternoon a throng took to one knee, chanting "silence is violence" and "no justice, no peace," as officers faced them just before the government-imposed curfew.
The crowd remained in Lafayette park and elsewhere in the capitol after dark, despite the curfew and vows by Trump to crack down on what he has called lawlessness by "hoodlums" and "thugs," using National Guard or even the US military if necessary.
After the curfew began in New York City, thousands of chanting and cheering protesters marched from the Barclays Center down Flatbush toward the Brooklyn Bridge as police helicopters whirred overheard.
A crowd, gathered at an entrance to the Manhattan Bridge roadway, chanted at riot police: "Walk with us! Walk with us."
Police in riot helmets, far fewer than on previous nights, watched at a distance from the sidewalk as cars honked rhythmically in support.
On Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, hundreds of people filled the street from curb to curb, marching past famous landmarks of the film center. Others gathered outside Los Angeles Police Department headquarters downtown, in some cases hugging and shaking hands with a line of officers outside.
Los Angeles was the scene of violent riots in the spring of 1992, following the acquittal of four policemen charged in the beating of black motorist Rodney King, that saw more than 60 people killed and an estimated $1 billion in damage.
MOST AMERICANS SYMPATHIZE
A majority of Americans sympathize with the protests, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.
The survey conducted on Monday and Tuesday found 64% of American adults were "sympathetic to people who are out protesting right now," while 27% said they were not and 9% were unsure.
More than 55% of Americans said they disapproved of Trump's handling of the protests, including 40% who "strongly" disapproved, while just one-third said they approved - lower than his overall job approval of 39%, the poll showed.
In Minneapolis, Roxie Washington, mother of Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, told a news conference he was a good man. "I want everybody to know that this is what those officers took from me....," she said, sobbing. "Gianna does not have a father. He will never see her grow up, graduate."
The head of the U.S. National Guard said on Tuesday 18,000 Guard members were assisting local law enforcement in 29 states.
Floyd died after a white policeman pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25, reigniting the explosive issue of police brutality against African Americans five months before the November presidential election.
The officer who knelt on Floyd, 44-year-old Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers involved were fired but not yet charged.
Trump has threatened to use the military to battle violence that has erupted nightly, often after a day of peaceful protests. He has derided local authorities, including state governors, for their response to the disturbances.
On Monday night, demonstrators smashed windows and looted luxury stores on tony Fifth Avenue in New York, and set fire to a Los Angeles strip mall. Four police officers were shot in St. Louis and one in Las Vegas who was critically wounded, authorities said.
Officers were injured in clashes elsewhere, including one who was in critical condition after being hit by a car in the Bronx, police said.
The protests come on the heels of lockdowns to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus which hit African Americans disproportionately with high numbers of cases and job losses.
Some of those who have gathered at the site of Floyd's killing have invoked the non-violent message of the late US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968, as the only way forward.
"He would be truly appalled by the violence because he gave his life for this stuff," said Al Clark, 62, a black man who drove to the Minneapolis memorial with one of King's speeches blaring from his truck.
"But I can understand the frustration and anger."