Obama pens article on how Floyd protests can be 'turning point for real change'
Protests flared in many cities in the United States over the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died this week after being pinned down by the neck by a white police officer in Minneapolis
Trump encourages governors to use aggressive tactics on protesters
US President Donald Trump told the nation's governors in a video teleconference on Monday to aggressively go after violent protesters after three nights of unrest in dozens of cities across the country.
"You have to dominate or you'll look like a bunch of jerks, you have to arrest and try people," the President told governors in a call from the basement White House Situation Room, reports the CNN.
In the conversation, which also included law enforcement and national security officials, Trump also emphasized it was his belief the violence is being brought on by forces from the "radical left".
"It's a movement, if you don't put it down it will get worse and worse," Trump said.
"The only time its successful is when you're weak and most of you are weak."
Minneapolis authorities make nearly 500 arrests during weekend protests
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (MDPS) reported that 481 arrests were made since a Multi-Agency Command Center (MACC) was established on Friday.
MDPS also reported that there were 276 arrests made on Sunday into early Monday morning, this number includes 150 people who were arrested in the area of Washington Avenue and Interstate 35W where a semi truck drove into a crowd of protesters Sunday, reports the CNN.
Protests over the death of George Floyd raged across the city over the weekend, where fires burned and and tear gas canisters flew in Minneapolis as people threw objects at officers.
NYC mayor addresses daughter's arrest at protest: 'She wants to see a better and more peaceful world'
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he admires his 25-year-old daughter Chiara following her arrest at a protest.
“I love my daughter deeply. I honor her. She is such a good human being. She only wants to do good in the world. She wants to see a better and more peaceful world," de Blasio said, reports the CNN.
“I am proud of her that she cares so much that she was willing to go out there and do something about it.”
When he and his wife found out about the arrest, they asked Chiara to account for the whole story.
“She recounted the story in detail to me, she was acting peacefully,” he said, adding that she believes everything she did was in the spirit of peaceful respectful protest.
Obama pens article on how Floyd protests can be 'turning point for real change'
Former US president Barack Obama tweeted out an article he wrote for Medium.com on the current racial crisis going on in the United States. I
The article is titled "How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change," reports the CNN.
"Let’s not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it," Obama wrote.
"If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves."
He suggested: "We can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals."
Trump, attorney general to meet as US cities smolder amid protests
US President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with his top law enforcement officer behind closed doors on Monday as cities nationwide awoke from a smoldering weekend of violent protests over race and policing in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chaotic demonstrations from Washington, DC to Los Angeles swelled from peaceful protests - sparked by the death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody last Monday - into scenes of violence that drew National Guard troops in at least 15 states and Washington.
Dozens of cities across the United States faced curfews at a level not seen since the riots following the 1968 assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. as fires burned near the White House and stores were looted in New York City and other major cities.
Floyd’s death is the latest in a string of similar incidents involving unarmed black men in recent years that has raised an outcry over excessive police force and racism, and re-ignited outrage across a starkly politically and racially divided country just months before the Nov. 3 presidential election.
White House calls for 'law and order' as violent protests rage
The White House on Monday called for "law and order" and blamed agitators for a sixth straight night of violent nationwide US protests triggered by anger over racial inequities and excessive police force.
Police and fire departments fought into the night to quell chaos of fires burning near the White House and shops looted in New York City and Southern California. The National Guard said it had deployed in 23 states and Washington, DC.
One person was killed in Louisville, Kentucky, overnight where police and National Guard troops returned fire while trying to disperse a crowd.
New York City’s police arrested more than 250 people Sunday night
The New York Police department made more than 250 arrests during protests Sunday night into Monday morning, the department’s press office said early this morning, adding that most of the arrests were made in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
At least seven officers were injured and about a dozen vehicles were damaged during the protests, the NYPD said, report the CNN.
Thousands of people took to the streets across the country during the weekend in both peaceful protests and violent demonstrations against law enforcement over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Atlanta mayor on Trump's response to protests: 'He's not helping. Leaders lead, and he is not leading'
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms stepped into the national spotlight on Friday night, denouncing vandalism in her city following demonstrations over the death of George Floyd.
Speaking to CNN on Monday morning, the mayor urged President Trump to refrain from giving his “input” on the protests and instead give the states “support," reports the CNN.
“He's not helping. Leaders lead and he is not leading. He is causing further disruption to our cities. Just give us the support that we ask for. If we don't ask for it, we don't need your input and your advice and your rhetoric because it's not helping us manage this crisis in our cities that we're experiencing across America,” the mayor said.
The mayor said she would support the President making some sort of national statement and call for unity if it could “help heal” the country and was a message of reconciliation.
“If there is something that he has to say that can help heal this country, then he's the president of the United States and he certainly has the right to speak it,” the mayor said.
She added that if the President were to speak “further hatred and division over our cities” he should not say “anything at all.”
More than half of US states have activated their National Guard
Over 50 percent of states across the country have activated their National Guard to respond to civil disturbances that have gripped much of the nation, reports the CNN.
As of Monday morning, 26 states and the District of Columbia had activated their National Guard:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Virginia
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- The District of Columbia
Beverly Hills and Santa Monica curfews will start Monday
Curfews in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica will start at 1 pm PDT Monday for business districts and 4 pm PDT citywide following a weekend of protests and looting, reports the CNN.
“This has been a difficult weekend in our City. Thousands of protesters marched through our streets to call attention to the devastating circumstances surrounding the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd. Sadly, there were multiple incidents of vandalism. Several stores, buildings and public art pieces were damaged. This will not be tolerated in our City. It’s unfortunate that the message of the peaceful protesters has been diminished by criminal behavior,” Beverly Hills Mayor Les Friedman said in a statement.
Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown also expressed his disappointment in a news release, saying “On Sunday, Santa Monica honored and respected, and ultimately protected, a peaceful protest against institutional racism. Yet our solidarity with those honoring George Floyd was betrayed, as was his memory, by opportunistic and organized criminals."
"Taking advantage of the protest as a diversion, they stole not only goods, but jobs, and challenged the resilience of our business community, which is poised for recovery from the ongoing pandemic.
Sunday was one of the most distressing days in Santa Monica history," he continued.
White House is reaching out to black leaders for a possible listening session
As US President Trump and his advisers continue to weigh how best to respond to ongoing nationwide unrest, White House officials have begun reaching out to some black leaders ahead of a possible “listening session” later this week.
Trump’s schedule today lists him hosting a conference call with governors, law enforcement and national security leaders — an indication he is focused for now on law-and-order issues during nationwide violence, not necessarily the underlying issues of racism and police brutality that initially sparked protests. His tweets and retweets have also centered on going after Antifa and quelling violence, sometimes using a militaristic tone, reports the CNN.
But some inside the White House also believe Trump should hear from members of the black community to better understand the issues and to help generate ideas for how to move forward.
Washington DC mayor says demonstrators brought tools and supplies with them
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said protesters in the city brought "tools and supplies" with them last night.
“Well, we know that we have people that came here with tools and supplies, and they re-upped their supplies. They went to different parts of the city, so we think there was a mix of people here but certainly people here who do this type of protest demonstration,” Bowser said will speaking on NBC this morning, reports the CNN.
NBC's Craig Melvin asked her if they were "professional protesters and demonstrators."
“Well, we’ve seen some of these tactics before, so we know that they were among the groups here,” she said, describing the tactics as “the types of tools they used, restocking, setting fires here and there to draw in the police to various locations.”
Two dead and a police officer injured after shootings in Iowa
Two people are dead and a police officer is injured after a series of shootings overnight in Davenport, Iowa.
Police officers in Davenport, Iowa were ambushed by rioters overnight, authorities said in an early morning news conference, reports the CNN.
Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski said three officers were patrolling the city when they were ambushed and several rounds were shot at them. Sikorski said the officer’s vehicles were hit, and one officer was injured. Sikorski did not know the officer’s condition but said he was in “good spirits” this morning. Police have arrested several people in a car that fled that scene, he said.
Sikorski said police responded to dozens of incidents in the city involving rioters where shots were fired. He said that a total of four people were shot and two people had died.
Davenport Mayor Mike Mateson said he will be enacting a curfew in the city tonight and will be asking Governor Kim Reynolds to activate the National Guard.
Trump holes up at White House as protests tear through US
America is still waiting for an address from President Donald Trump about the protests tearing through its streets following the death of George Floyd.
After being briefly moved to an underground bunker during Friday night's protests outside the White House, Trump spent Sunday night again sheltered as violence raged nearby amid protests from Minneapolis to Miami and Portland to Philadelphia, reports the CNN.
In normal circumstances, a president could be expected to call for calm and perhaps deliver an Oval Office address.
But Trump's instinct has been to exacerbate the sense of crisis and division -- blasting the demonstrators as "THUGS" and calling for crackdowns.
Trump on Thursday fueled the incendiary tone around Floyd's death when he invoked racist language from the 1960s by tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."
He spent Friday attempting to strike a more measured tone and denying he was evoking a phrase with ties to brutal civil rights-era police tactics. At a roundtable with retail and restaurant executives, Trump disclosed that he'd spoken with the family of Floyd and said he wanted "to express our nation's deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathies."
How the US papers have covered the George Floyd protests
The front pages of US newspapers over the past few days tell of the double tragedy of a nation rocked by protests over the death of George Floyd and the growing coronavirus toll.
The New York Times front page on Monday said: "Twin crises and surging anger convulse US". Alongside pictures from the protests, two headlines proclaim: "Pandemic leaves nation's nerves on edge"; and, "Videos from protests deepen scrutiny of aggressive police tactics".
An op-ed piece asked what Trump and "toxic cops" have in common? It reads: "When historians look back at the Trump era, they may very well say his presidency was encapsulated by this moment, when a sadistic cop knelt on the neck of an African-American man for almost nine minutes in plain view and the streets exploded in rage."
Monday's Washington Post headline summed up the tension in the nation: "US at a precipice as demonstrations intensify".
Two Atlanta officers fired after video shows them tasing man and using 'excessive force' on woman
Two Atlanta Police Department officers were fired Sunday after video showed them using "excessive force" against two college students during Saturday night's protests, Atlanta's mayor announced.
Officers were filmed in downtown Atlanta breaking the windows of the vehicle the two people were in, yanking a woman out of the car and tasing the man., reports the CNN.
Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said she recognized the two as Spelman College and Morehouse College students. Both schools are historically black colleges in Atlanta.
"It was the worst experience of my life," said the woman, identified as Taniyah Pilgrim, 20. She said she and her friend Messiah Young, the man in the video, were riding home from protests when the incident took place.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she was disturbed when she saw the video and ordered charges to be dropped against the man. The woman was not charged.
"As we watch the video today, it became abundantly clear immediately with the young woman that this force was excessive," Bottoms said. "It also became abundantly clear that the officer who tased the young man needed to be terminated as well."
One of the officers wrote in a police report that he used his taser because he was unsure whether Pilgrim or Young were armed.
Hundreds of arrests overnight as police clash with protesters
Hundreds of people have been arrested overnight after taking part in protests across America.
The New York Police department arrested more than 200 during protests overnight, the department’s press office said early Monday morning, adding most of the arrests were made in Manhattan and Brooklyn, reports the CNN.
At least seven officers were injured and about a dozen vehicles were damaged during the protests, the NYPD said.
Hundreds of people were also arrested in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, according to officials there.
There were at least nine fires in the city of Santa Monica, and the police and fire department responded to over 1,000 9-1-1 calls since 12 p.m (local), according to a news release from the City of Santa Monica.
The city said in a tweet, “On the average day, the City responds to 200 emergency calls.”
The San Diego Police Department tweeted that “over 100 people were arrested & booked in to jail for charges ranging from failure to disperse, burglary, assaulting officers & vandalism” from May 31 to June 1.
San Diego Police Sgt. Clinton Leisz said protests had “calmed down quite a bit," but told said that several businesses had been vandalized or looted.
Target outlines plans to help Minneapolis community
Target says it will provide the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with first aid equipment and essentials to help the community.
Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said the retailer would be donating "truckloads of first aid equipment and medicine, bottled water, baby formula, diapers and other essentials to help ensure that no one within the areas of heaviest damage and demonstration is cut off from needed supplies,” in a letter to team members, guests and the community.
Target is working towards reopening affected stores and staff who have been impacted by store closures will be able to work at other locations and will be paid for their scheduled hours up to 14 days, reports the CNN.
Target has also vowed to have conversations with community members and officials to learn how to support a community while it heals.
“We are a community in pain. That pain is not unique to the Twin Cities — it extends across America. The murder of George Floyd has unleashed the pent-up pain of years, as have the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor,” said Cornell.
Man dead in Kentucky after authorities fired at crowd as they cleared parking lot
Protests in Louisville, Kentucky turned fatal early this morning after at least one person was killed, police said.
At around 12:15 am ET, the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and National Guard units were dispatched to Dino’s Food Market to clear a large crowd in the parking lot, the police chief said during an early morning presser, reports the CNN.
“Officers and soldiers begin to clear the lot and at some point were shot at. Both LMPD and National Guards members returned fire, we have one man dead at the scene,” Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad said during a new conference.
The chief said they have several persons of interest who they are interviewing.
Authorities are also collecting video from the incident. More information is expected to be released tomorrow, the chief said.
China calls racial discrimination in the US a 'social ill'
China’s foreign affairs ministry has called on the US to prevent racial discrimination against minorities.
“We are following the latest developments around the death of Mr Floyd, Black Lives Matter and their human rights should be protected,” said Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry on Monday, reports the CNN.
He added that “the racial discrimination against minorities is a social ill in the United States, what happened again reflects there are serious problems that should be urgently addressed, that is the racial discrimination and violent law enforcement by police.”
Zhao said: “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 uphold the legal rights of ethnic minorities.”
In response to a question about claims made by US officials stating there was interference from foreign countries including China in current protests Zhao said: “The remarks by [US National Security Adviser Robert] O’Brien and other US officials are just baseless, China does not interfere in other countries domestic affairs.”
Zhao added that he hoped “US politicians can mind their own business.”
Traditionally, Beijing has portrayed racism as a Western problem. But China has come under heavy criticism in recent weeks for its treatment of Africans in the country.
Concern over the spread of coronavirus during US protest
US officials have expressed their concern that coronavirus could rapidly spread during protests over the death of George Floyd.
People across America have taken to the streets to vent their frustrations over the seeming lack of value for the lives of black people in the same week the nation crossed the 100,000 death count from coronavirus.
Sunday alone saw an increase of almost 20,000 cases, according to the data from Johns Hopkins University, reports the CNN.
As of Monday morning at least 1,790,191 Americans have contracted the virus and 104,383 have died. But some expect a jump in cases following days of demonstrations.
With large groups of people protesting, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he expects a sharp increase in cases of Covid-19 in his state.
"I am deeply concerned about a super-spreader type of incident," Walz said.
"We're going to see a spike in Covid-19. It's inevitable."
Officials in New York shared the governor's worry about a potential for rise in coronavirus among protesters.
"I would still wish that everyone would realize that when people gather it's inherently dangerous in the context of this pandemic, and I'm going to keep urging people not to use that approach and if they do they focus on social distancing and wearing face coverings," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Saturday.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that while people have the right to protest, even during a pandemic, they also have a duty to protect the health of themselves and others.
"You have a right to demonstrate, you have a right to protest, god bless America," Cuomo said at a Saturday news conference. "You don't have a right to infect other people, you don't have a right to act in a way that's going to jeopardize public health."
He told people to "demonstrate with a mask on," and noted how the coronavirus has highlighted longstanding health disparities for the black community.
"The coronavirus crisis has created a depth of pain that still has not been accounted for. So many New Yorkers have lost someone but that is particularly true in communities of color and particularly true in the African American community," Cuomo said.
"That loss is being felt so deeply because every knows it's not based on equality ... communities of color lost so much more."
Open season on the free press: Journalists targeted in attacks as US protests rage
On Friday evening, viewers watched as CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew were arrested on live television while covering a protest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
By Saturday, as protesters and the police clashed across the nation, reporter Kaitlin Rust from Louisville, Kentucky local station WAVE News screamed on air “I’m getting shot! I’m getting shot!” as cameras caught her and her crew being targeted at gunpoint and shot at by local police with pepper balls.
Over a three-day period, organizations that track press violence documented about two dozen acts of violence, including an incident on Saturday night in Minneapolis during which Reuters journalist Julio-Cesar Chavez and Reuters security adviser Rodney Seward were struck and injured by rubber bullets.
From Los Angeles to Minneapolis to New York, what seemed like isolated attacks on the press at political rallies and protests over the last few years intensified as trust in media is near a decade low, some media experts said.
Around 4,000 people have been arrested in the US since George Floyd's death
There have been around 4,000 people arrested across the United States since the death of George Floyd sparked outrage and nationwide protests.
The first arrests began on Tuesday, May 26, the day after Floyd’s death, reports the CNN.
Police are also showing solidarity at some parts of US
Some police departments have tried to reach out to the protesters, shared their grief and spread the message of peace amid a time when people are outraged against the law enforcement agencies on the account of their brutality over George Floy'd death.
In Houston, Floyd's hometown, Police Chief Art Acevedo kneeled along with protesters. He also wanted to provide a police escort for George Floyd's body as he returns to his hometown to be buried.
"It's going to be a big deal for our city to bring him back home," Acevedo said. "We want to make sure that the family is safe, that the movement is safe."
Acevedo has been embracing protesters and expressed his hope that the outrage over Floyd's death would spark change.
"I think this is a watershed moment," Acevedo said. He hopes it's a sign of "meaningful reform" on how officers who use deadly force are dealt with.
In New York City, a police officer was seen taking a knee in front of a heart drawn on a wall during a rally for Floyd near Times Square Sunday.
Social media users praised the actions of the chief. Following the march, the department held a pop up block party to interact with the community they serve.
Across the country, an entire line of officers was seen taking the knee as they faced protesters in Spokane County, Washington. The attendees of the demonstration, billed as a protest against police brutality, cheered as the officers kneeled.
In Kansas City, Missouri, at least one protestor shook the hand of an officer deployed to a protest Sunday.
Minneapolis’s progressive image burns in its streets
The last time that Minneapolis burned like this was July 1967. For three nights, dozens of buildings and businesses along Plymouth Avenue, a commercial strip on the city's predominantly African-American North Side, were vandalized, looted and torched. Accounts differ as to what sparked the violence then. But there was no doubt about the source of the tinder. Black residents of Minneapolis had faced decades of discriminatory policing, racist housing policies and difficult employment conditions. Only the arrival of 600 National Guard troops stopped the violence.
Amazon UK website blemished with racist abuse
Amazon's UK website was flamed with racially abusive comments on its product reviews for several hours sparking outrage among people.
The abuse, now removed, appeared when users searched the online shop for Apple AirPods and similar products, Amazon has blamed a "bad actor" behind this incident, reports BBC.
Violence erupts across US on sixth day of protest
Violence has flared in cities across the US on the sixth night of protests sparked by the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody.
Curfews have been imposed in nearly 40 cities, but people have largely ignored them, leading to tense stand-offs, reports BBC.
Riot police clashed with protesters in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, firing tear gas and pepper bullets to try to disperse the crowds.
Police vehicles were set on fire and shops were looted in several cities.
Protests over death of George Floyd turn violent again despite curfews, National Guard
Looting broke out on Sunday in Southern California, a tanker truck drove into marchers in Minneapolis and demonstrators clashed with police in Boston and Washington, DC as the United States struggled to contain chaotic protests over race and policing.
National Guard troops were deployed in 15 US states and Washington, DC as darkness fell in major cities still reeling from five nights of violence and destruction that began with peaceful protests over the death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody, reports Reuters.
Clashes outside White House as US cities under curfew
Police fired tear gas outside the White House late Sunday as major US cities were put under curfew to suppress rioting as anti-racism protestors again took to the streets to voice fury at police brutality.
With the Trump administration branding instigators of six nights of rioting as domestic terrorists, there were more confrontations between protestors and police and fresh outbreaks of looting, reports AFP.
Violent clashes erupted repeatedly in a small park next to the White House, with authorities using tear gas, pepper spray and flash bang grenades to disperse crowds who lit several large fires and damaged property.
Trump fled to bunker as protests over George Floyd raged outside White House
As protesters gathered outside the White House on Friday night in Washington, US President Donald Trump was briefly taken to the White House underground bunker.
Floyd's death in Minneapolis on Monday has sparked unrest and protests in dozens of cities across the US, including Washington DC. Demonstrators have gathered outside the White House since Friday night, with clashes erupting intermittently outside the very perimeter of the White House, Reports The Guardian.
As protesters converged on the White House on Friday, the New York Times reports, "Secret Service agents abruptly rushed the president to the underground bunker used in the past during terrorist attacks."
Hardened to withstand the force of a passenger jet crashing into the White House, the bunker is the same one that sheltered vice president Dick Cheney during the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. "The president and his family were rattled by their experience on Friday night, according to several advisers," the Times report said.
Trump has been widely criticised for his response to the protests that have rocked the nation since video of Floyd's death began spreading on social media.
Despite days of peaceful protests and violent clashes with police in some of America's major cities, Trump has not addressed the nation and has repeatedly sent inflammatory messages over Twitter.
Late on Friday, Trump tweeted that protesters could have been attacked with "vicious dogs and ominous weapons" wielded by the US Secret Service and accused the DC mayor for supposedly not providing police to protect the White House.
"They let the 'protesters' scream and rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn't know what hit them," Trump said.
"If they had [breached the fence]," the president continued, "they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That's when people would have been really badly hurt, at least."
The president has spoken to George Floyd's grieving family, but according to Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, the conversation was brief. "He didn't give me an opportunity to even speak," Floyd told MSNBC.