Category Archives: George Floyd

Trump threatens to deploy military against protesters as teargas fired outside White House – live

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Bobby Rush, an Illinois congressman and a Civil Rights era leader who co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers in 1967, responded to Trump’s Rose Garden address with this:

We are living in a police state. https://t.co/YjO8x7QZjt

The Episcopal bishop of DC told The Washington Post that she was “outraged” after the officers cleared peaceful protestors gathered near the White House with tear gas and rubber bullets, to clear the way for Donald Trump to take photos outside St. John’s Church.

The Episcopal bishop of DC – who oversees the DC church Trump just stopped at – tells the @washingtonpost she is "outraged" and that neither she nor the rector was asked or told… “that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop.." 1/3

"We so disassociate ourselves from the messages of this president. We hold the teachings of our sacred texts to be so so grounding to our lives and everything we do and it is about love of neighbor and sacrificial love and justice." @Mebudde Bishop Mariann Budde 3/3

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‘Let’s do this another way’: George Floyd’s brother calls for peace – video

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George Floyd’s brother implores protesters to remain peaceful, urging people to go out and vote rather than turn to violence. ‘Stop thinking our voice don't matter, and vote,’ Terrence Floyd said, visiting the site of his brother’s death. ‘If I’m not over here wilding out, if I'm not over here blowing up stuff, if I'm not over here messing up my community, then what are y'all doing?’

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Facebook employees hold virtual walkout over Mark Zuckerberg’s refusal to act against Trump

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  • Workers dissatisfied with decision to not remove the president’s post
  • An oversight board member is involved in a racist speech controversy

Facebook employees are staging a rebellion over Mark Zuckerberg’s refusal to act against Donald Trump, expressing their dissatisfaction with their boss on social media in a rare public display of dissent and, in some cases, staging a “virtual” walkout.

Disagreement came from employees at all levels of the company, including some senior staff. Particular criticism was levelled at Zuckerberg’s personal decision to leave up the Facebook version of a tweet sent by Trump in which the president appeared to encourage police to shoot rioters. By contrast, Twitter hid the message behind a warning.

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‘It’s about time we stand up’: the voices of the George Floyd protests – video

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Protests calling for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, have spread across the US. Thousands have taken to the streets to express their anger at the systemic racism black people continue to face across the country. As the protests become more forceful, with fires breaking out near the White House on Sunday evening, many have been calling for a return to peaceful demonstrations

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Thousands in New Zealand protest against George Floyd killing

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Speakers highlight racism against Indigenous people and call on Ardern to denounce killing

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, after the death of George Floyd in the US.

At least four solidarity gatherings were held in the country on Monday afternoon, with massive crowds taking to their knees in the Auckland demonstration.

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George Floyd: fires burn near White House as US-wide protests rage – live

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A striking detail from tonight’s coverage has been reports that as protesters surged towards the White House on Friday night, US president Donald Trump, his wife Melania and son Barron briefly retreated to the Presidential Emergency Operations Centre – a fortified bunker-like structure beneath the residence.

The last time a US head of state was publicly known to have used the bunker was on 11 September, 2001, where senior members of the George W Bush administration spent that day after their west wing offices were evacuated. There are no other public reports of presidents needing to use the area since - the New York Times, which first reported this detail, says “it has not been used much, if at all” since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But it notes the area has since been strengthened to withstand the impact of a passenger jet.

Related: Trump fled to bunker as protests over George Floyd raged outside White House

My colleague Julian Borger in Washington DC has just filed this update on a tense evening the capital.

Multiple fires broke out near the White House late on Sunday evening, as angry protesters gathered in Washington DC for the third night in a row following the death of George Floyd.

Sunday evening’s protests in front of the White House started relatively cheerfully, with a crowd of a few thousand in Lafayette park. Earlier in the day, demonstrators had marched through the city’s downtown, chanting “George Floyd! Say his name!” and “No Justice! No Peace!”

Related: Fires light up Washington DC on third night of George Floyd protests

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‘These cops love you’: Michigan sheriff joins George Floyd protesters in Flint – video

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A sheriff in Michigan on Saturday was welcomed with cheers as he gave a rousing speech before joining demonstrators on a George Floyd protest. 'The only reason we're here is to make sure you have a voice, that's it' said Chris Swanson. 'I want to make this a parade, not a protest.' Swanson then joined the demonstrators after they chanted 'walk with us' at him 

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Global report: fears of coronavirus surge from US protests as world cases hit 6m

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The pope warns that people are more important than economies as countries ease lockdowns

Global coronavirus infections have passed the 6 million mark as Latin America hit the grim milestone of 50,000 deaths with Brazil alone accounting for half of those fatalities.

With at least 369,000 deaths confirmed worldwide since the pandemic began in China in January – and that number believed to be an underestimate – Brazil’s virus death toll of 28,834 has now surpassed that of France with the country reporting 33,274 new infections in the past 24 hours.

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George Floyd: UK protesters gather in solidarity with US – video report

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Crowds of protesters gathered in parts of the UK in solidarity with the unrest across the US after the killing of George Floyd. In London, hundreds protested in Trafalgar Square before marching to the US embassy. As they walked chants could be heard of 'I can't breathe' and the name of the organisers, Black Lives Matter

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George Floyd protests: New York police cars filmed driving into crowd – video

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Footage of two police SUVs driving into a crowd of demonstrators in Brooklyn has been widely shared on social media. The incident involving NYPD vehicles occurred near Prospect Park on 30 May, as protests took place across the US following the death of George Floyd, an African American who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck in Minneapolis. New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: 'Running SUVs in crowds of people should never, ever be normalised. No matter who does it, no matter why.'

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George Floyd: second night of US anti-racism protests – in pictures

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Protests over the death of George Floyd and other police killings of black people spread across the country as mayors imposed curfews and governors called in the national guard

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George Floyd: protesters and police clash in cities across US – live

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The Guardian’s Ankita Rao, reporting from New York, on the mayor’s controversial late-night statements:

Mayor Bill de Blasio took to the podium on Saturday night to tell protestors across the city that they were “heard, loud and clear”.

I’m in Brooklyn to talk about tonight’s protests. https://t.co/oBVXGh7JWo

US prosecutors have filed federal charges against three people in New York, accusing them of using “molotov cocktails” on New York police vehicles during the Friday protests:

BREAKING: Three people charged with federal crimes in connection with Molotov cocktail attacks on the NYPD during #GeorgeFloyd protests in NYC Friday night. pic.twitter.com/dyaDJByMit

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Atlanta police chief says ‘black lives being diminished’ as Floyd protests grow

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Erika Shields says angry reaction is understandable as governor declares state of emergency

After hours of peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd, some demonstrators in downtown Atlanta turned violent on Friday night, smashing police cars, spray-painting a sign at CNN headquarters and breaking into restaurants and stores.

The crowd pelted officers with bottles, chanting “Quit your jobs.”

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Protests spread across US in response to George Floyd killing – video

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Protests against police brutality ignited across the US overnight and into Saturday morning following the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck.

Demonstrators chanted 'hands up, don't shoot' and 'I can't breathe' as they clashed with police

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Police violence in America: six years after Ferguson, George Floyd’s killing shows little has changed

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In 2014, Michael Brown’s killing by white police prompted talk of reform – but the country has failed to stanch the bleeding

After the African American teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014, the epidemic of police violence against people of color in the US captured national and global attention, for a time.

Related: Police officer filmed kneeling on George Floyd's neck charged with murder

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‘A national crisis’: how the killing of George Floyd is changing US politics

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As people protest across the US, Donald Trump and Joe Biden have offered divergent responses that point to a divisive political debate on race relations

Riots in Minneapolis and across the US triggered by video footage showing George Floyd, a black man, killed under the knee of a police officer, has caused a dramatic shift in the national political debate in America and thrust race to the center of the stage.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden offered divergent responses that point to an even more divisive political debate on race relations and between Democrats and Republicans playing out in the months ahead.

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George Floyd killing: protests rage as anger mounts in cities across US – live

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In Los Angeles, protesters marched through the downtown area before shutting the 110 freeway.

From @KTLA: protestors have shut down the 110 freeway pic.twitter.com/1WI75tIMOl

LAPD seen trying to detain protesters after squad car windows smashed, officer attacked downtown https://t.co/uHrpaRp3xm pic.twitter.com/gmxNAdO1uM

Demonstrator in DTLA made a cordon blocking the road out of Bird scooters pic.twitter.com/aV8c63SG4k

Kellie Chauvin, the wife of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, is divorcing her husband because of his role in Floyd’s death.

Kellie Chauvin,
Through her attorney wife of former Officer Derek Chauvin the former Minneapolis Police Officer charged with murdering #GeorgeFloyd released a statement saying she is devastated by Floyd’s death, sends condolences to his family and is divorcing her husband @wcco pic.twitter.com/A5n7bYgdbK

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Facebook declines to take action against Trump statements

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Twitter responded to the president’s post, which suggested violence against protesters, by hiding it behind a warning label

As Twitter for the second time in a single week took unprecedented action against a tweet by Donald Trump, Facebook declined to take any enforcement action against the president’s statements.

Trump’s threatening statement on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on Thursday night, “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” echoed a racist 1960s police chief known for ordering patrols of black neighborhoods with shotguns and dogs. It was widely interpreted as a threat and potential incitement to violence against residents of the Twin Cities who have erupted in protest against the alleged police killing of George Floyd, a black man who begged for his life as a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

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Van Jones on George Floyd killing: ‘The world witnessed a lynching’ – video

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Activist Van Jones has said that the killing of George Floyd was a 'lynching'. Floyd, 46, a black man, was killed in police custody on Monday night after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on his neck.

In the aftermath, protests have flared up across the US with people demanding justice and systemic change to end police brutality. The CNN political commentator added that everyone should: 'Look in the mirror at how you choke off black opportunity'

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