George Floyd US protests: Victim’s brother Terrence calls for peace

Terrence Floyd made a dramatic appearance in Minnesota, as a new autopsy raised questions about his brother’s death.

Terrence Floyd speaks to a group gathered at the site where his brother George Floyd was killed by police one week ago. Picture: AFP

George Floyd’s brother pleaded for peace in the streets Monday, saying destruction is “not going to bring my brother back at all,” while President Donald Trump berated most of the nation’s governors as “weak” for not cracking down harder on the lawlessness that has convulsed cities from coast to coast.

The competing messages – one conciliatory, one bellicose – came as the US braced for another round of violence at a time when the country is already buckling because of the coronavirus outbreak and the Depression-level unemployment it has caused.

In Minneapolis, Floyd’s brother, Terrence, made an emotional plea at the site where Floyd was pinned to the pavement by an officer who put his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck until he stopped breathing.

“Let’s switch it up, y’all. Let’s switch it up. Do this peacefully, please,” Terrence Floyd said.

The crowd chanted, “What’s his name? George Floyd!” and “One down, three to go!” in reference to the four officers involved in Floyd’s arrest.

Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with murder, but protesters are demanding that his colleagues be prosecuted, too. All four were fired.

The gathering was part rally and part impromptu eulogy as Floyd urged people to stop the violence and use their power at the ballot box.

“If I’m not over here messing up my community, then what are you all doing?” he said. “You all are doing nothing. Because that’s not going to bring my brother back at all.”

Protesters gather at White House

As President Donald Trump prepared to address the nation Monday, military police near White House moved directly in front of protesters, many of whom held up their hands. “Don’t shoot,” the protesters said.

About 1000 protesters had gathered near Lafayette Park, across from the White House, which was completely barricaded. Lines of law enforcement officers stood between the barricades and protesters. Protesters at the park perimeter chanted at officers: “You are the threat.”

They also told them: “Take a knee.” Soon, police fired tear gas, apparently trying to drive the protesters out of the park before Trump’s speech.

The National Guard presence in Washington was much more overt Monday than the day before. Beige hummers blocked several downtown intersections.

The country has been beset by angry demonstrations for the past week in some of the most widespread racial unrest in the U.S. since the 1960s. Spurred in part by Floyd’s death, protesters have taken to the streets to decry the killings of black people by police.

On Monday, police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who spilt onto an interstate highway in the heart of Philadelphia just before a 6pm curfew took effect.

While most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, others have descended into violence, leaving neighbourhoods in shambles, stores ransacked, windows broken and cars burned, despite curfews around the country and the deployment of thousands of National Guard members in at least 15 states.

Riot police clash with protesters near the White House. Picture: AFP

Trump berates ‘weak’ governors

Trump told the nation’s governors in a video conference that they “look like fools” for not deploying even more National Guard troops. “Most of you are weak,” he said.

He added: “You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you’ll never see this stuff again.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, dismissed Trump’s comments as the “rantings of an insecure man trying to look strong after building his entire political career on racism.” Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, vowed to address institutional racism in his first 100 days in office. He met in person with black leaders in Delaware and also held a virtual meeting with big-city mayors.

Biden said hate emerges “when you have somebody in power who breathes oxygen into the hate.”

Law enforcement officers in Washington. Police. Picture: AFP

Family reveals Floyd autopsy results

Meanwhile, an autopsy commissioned for Floyd’s family found that he died of asphyxiation from neck and back compression, the family’s attorneys said. That distinguishes it from the official autopsy, which said he died from the effects of being restrained along with underlying health problems and potential intoxicants in his system. The official autopsy found nothing “to support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”

The second autopsy was done by a doctor who also examined the body of Eric Garner, a New York man who died in an officer’s chokehold six years ago. Authorities in many cities have blamed the violence on outside agitators, though have provided little evidence to back that up.

But on Monday, federal authorities arrested a 28-year-old Illinois man, Matthew Lee Rupert, saying he had posted self-recorded video on his Facebook page last week that showed him in Minneapolis handing out explosive devices and encouraging people to throw them at law enforcement officers.

The video also showed him attempting to light a business on fire, and looting, according to an FBI affidavit. Early Sunday, he posted more videos of himself in and around Chicago, saying “let’s start a riot.” He was arrested in Chicago for violating the city’s curfew.

As they girded for more violence, Washington and New York joined other cities in announcing curfews. The move followed a chaotic Sunday night in New York, where groups broke into Chanel, Prada and Rolex boutiques and electronics stores.

Hours before Washington’s 7pm curfew was to go into effect, nearly a dozen National Guard vehicles rumbled through the White House grounds and exited opposite Lafayette Park, where crowds had gathered for another night of protests.

AP