George Floyd US protests: Curfews fail to hold protesters back; behind order to clear crowd for Donald Trump’s walk to St John’s Church
Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of US cities as curfews failed to stop people expressing anger and grief.
- Inside story —behind Trump’s walk
- Trump tours second religious site
- Biden vows to heal US wounds
- NYC extends curfew all week
- George Bush statement
The decision to forcibly remove a crowd of peaceful protesters before President Trump walked to St. John’s Church and posed for photos is drawing broad criticism while garnering praise from conservative backers. Protesters are again taking to the streets nationwide after a seventh night of chaos and arrests prompted cities to impose tougher curfews and prepare for another evening of turmoil. Governors in 28 states and the District of Columbia had called in the National Guard, deploying more than 20,400 troops to focus on containing the unrest. Four officers were shot and wounded in St Louis, Missouri, and one in Las Vegas was critically wounded and stores were looted in New York and Los Angeles. New York City has extended an 8pm curfew all week.
AFP 7.55pm Zuckerberg defends policy on Trump posts
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has defended his decision not to interfere with posts by Donald Trump after the social media giant’s hands-off policy sparked outrage and prompted employees to quit.
Social media platforms have faced calls to moderate the US President’s comments, most recently because of the unrest gripping America in the wake of an unarmed black man’s death during arrest as a white policeman knelt on his neck.
The row began last week when Mr Zuckerberg said Facebook would not remove or flag Trump’s posts that appeared to encourage violence against those protesting police racism, even as the social media titan Twitter put warning labels on some of the President’s tweets over accuracy issues or the glorification of violence.
Mr Zuckerberg told employees in a video conference on Tuesday, local time, he talked to Mr Trump on the phone after the decision, and that he “used that opportunity to make him know I felt this post was inflammatory and harmful, and let him know where we stood on it”, The New York Times reported, citing a recording of the call.
The CEO was referring to a post by the President that said “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” — the same comment on Twitter was still visible but behind a warning label.
Facebook’s move prompted scrutiny and dissent from employees, and it was a “tough decision” over content that had upset him personally, Mr Zuckerberg told about 25,000 staff who had tuned in, according to the tech website Recode, which had obtained a copy of the call.
“I knew that the stakes were very high on this, and knew a lot of people would be upset if we made the decision to leave it up,” Mr Zuckerberg said on the call, not backing down from the policy, Recode reported.
But Mr Zuckerberg said during the tense call that Facebook was exploring whether it should amend the policy on such content or find other options to mark it instead of outright removal, according to one person on the call cited by Bloomberg.
The call came after a number of Facebook employees publicly expressed their anger at the company’s policy on incendiary content, with many quitting or threatening to leave.
AFP 7.10pm Pope says racism ‘intolerable’
Pope Francis says “we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism”, in reaction to the killing of a black man by US police that has sparked nationwide protests.
But the pontiff also condemned the violence that followed George Floyd’s death in the city of Minneapolis last week as “self-destructive and self-defeating”.
Agencies 6.25pm Streets calmest in days
Protests were largely peaceful and US streets were calmer than they have been in days since the killing of George Floyd.
As sunrise approached, there were scattered reports of looting in New York City overnight.
More than 9000 people have been arrested across the US since the unrest began following Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25.
But there was a marked quiet compared with the unrest of the past few nights, which included fires and shootings in some cities.
The calmer night came as many cities intensified their curfews, with authorities in New York and Washington ordering people off streets while it was still daylight.
Agencies 3.27pm: Police clashes as protesters ignore curfew
Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of US cities for an eighth consecutive night over the death of a black man in police custody, as curfews failed to hold back people expressing anger and grief.
Large marches and rallies took place in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Seattle, invoking the name of George Floyd, and other police victims.
On Monday night, five police officers were hit by gunfire in two cities. In Washington, D.C., protests were held near the park where demonstrators were cleared out by police on Monday to make a path for President Donald Trump so he could walk from the White House to a nearby church for a photo. 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.
The crowd remained in Lafayette Park and elsewhere in the capitol after curfew, despite threats by Trump to use the military to crack down on what he has called lawlessness by “hoodlums” and “thugs.” Dozens of National Guard troops lined up on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial behind black crowd-control barriers.
In New York City, thousands of chanting and cheering protesters ignored an 8pm curfew to march toward the Brooklyn Bridge as police helicopters whirred overheard.
On Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, hundreds of people filled the street from curb to curb. Others gathered outside Los Angeles Police Department headquarters downtown, in some cases hugging and shaking hands with a line of officers outside.
New York Post 2.38pm: Looters strike in Manhattan
Looters have struck in Manhattan, though the damage appeared to be a much smaller than the outright chaos of the previous night, with cops seen making several arrests outside of stores.
Videos posted on social media by reporters showed the NYPD making arrests after a group broke into a Zara at Broadway and Vesey Street near the World Trade Center.
After some people broke into a Zara on Broadway lots of police arrived, by car, bike, on foot. pic.twitter.com/B2UWZ5hLfR
— Jan Ransom (@Jan_Ransom) June 3, 2020
A PBS reporter said he witnessed a brawl erupt outside the clothing store, as a protester attempted to stop the looting.
In another break-in, five men used bats and crowbars to tear off wood panels from Nordstrom Rack on 31 Street and 6th Avenue, shouting “f–k the police,” as they smashed the windows, according to a witness.
The were scared off by cops, and ran away without stealing anything, the witness said. About 30 minutes later, workers were spotted barricading the store again with wood paneling.
Down the block, closer to 5th Avenue, four looters hit a smoke shop, and tried to take the cash register before dropping it, police said. One person, a Queens resident, was arrested, according to the cops at the scene.
The three others were able to make off with bongs, according to a man who lives across the street and filmed part of the incident.
Police also made several arrests in SoHo, where roving gangs had brazenly bashed through the windows of high-end stores a night earlier.
According to a witness, a group of about 40 people on Tuesday evening tried to breach the Louis Vuitton store in the posh downtown neighborhood, but scattered when cops showed up.
Police also cut off an access point to SoHo at Grand Street and West Broadway after what looked like an attempted looting at the Gucci store, which was hit Sunday night.
“Soho is closed. There’s no Soho tonight,” they said.
Agencies 1.20pm: Police dispute tear gas claim
The US Park Police denied using tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters outside the White House, saying officers instead used smoke canisters and pepper balls to aggressively push back the demonstrators. Protesters scrambled as smoke filled the streets and journalists witnessed people reacting to their eyes and throats becoming irritated. Journalists covering the protest reported the crowd was largely peaceful at the time; the Park Police said they were responding to protesters throwing items, including bricks and frozen water bottles at law enforcement.
Justice Department officials offered a different explanation, saying officers were carrying out Attorney General William Barr’s order to expand the security perimeter outside the White House. Officers repelled the crowd nearly 30 minutes ahead of a 7pm curfew in Washington. Shortly after the crowd was pushed back, Donald Trump walked through the park where they had gathered for a photo opportunity at a nearby church. — AP
Agencies 1.10pm: Chinese paper attacks Trump
An official Chinese Communist Party newspaper has attacked Donald Trump’s call to send in troops to put down protests and rioting with an editorial entitled “Quelling Protests With Troops Self- Contradictory For US.”
The Global Times, known as strongly nationalist and for its anti-American views, wrote: “This could be argued as the most extreme response to disorder among governments across the world.”
“Then why did Washington arrogantly and unreasonably accuse other countries of quelling riots? Why did politicians in Washington overbearingly portray the US as the beacon of democracy and human rights? Have they really not anticipated that the US could one day confront the situation as it does today and that their previous big talk could become a slap on their face?” The editorial attacked the US for continuing to criticise Hong Kong’s heavy- handed approach to sometimes violent anti-government protests, and for Beijing’s move to enact national security legislation for the territory, while the US failed to respond earlier to the coronavirus pandemic and police now battle protesters on American city streets. “The hooligan nature of Washington makes it a complete nuisance,” the paper said.
New York Post 1pm: Saks wrapped in razor wire
Saks Fifth Avenue has surrounded its flagship Manhattan store with razor wire to keep loosters from smashing their way in and making off with troves of expensive merchandise.
The luxury retailer has also hired private security guards with specially trained dogs to protect the premises in the wake of Monday night’s looting of Macy’s iconic, Herald Square location.
At Saks, workers began attaching chain-link fencing to plywood that was previously installed to cover the luxury store’s famed display windows.
Saks Fifth Avenue is wrapped in razor wire to prevent looting https://t.co/NXA1vvRcRQ pic.twitter.com/sHUybaFU5J
— New York Post (@nypost) June 3, 2020
The second phase of the job saw workers further fortify the fencing with a coil of razor wire along the top edge.
At least seven German shepherds, Belgian Malinois and pit bull dogs were also on hand, along with guards who will use them to patrol outside the store in an attempt to deter looters amid the ongoing protests over the racially charged, May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “God willing, I hope they don’t show up and it goes smoothly,” one guard said.
The guard noted that the dogs “aren’t friendly.”
Jon Swartz 12.45pm: Zuckerberg defends Trump stance
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has defended his decision to leave alone inflammatory posts by President Donald Trump on the social-networking platform despite criticism from employees and civil rights leaders.
During a contentious town hall meeting with employees, initially scheduled for Thursday, Zuckerberg didn’t hedge on the issue, employees told news organisations including the Wall Street Journal. A day after hundreds of employees staged a virtual walkout to protest the company’s stance on Trump posts, Zuckerberg reiterated he doesn’t believe private companies like Facebook should regulate political speech. While he said he personally found Trump’s posts “deeply offensive,” he thinks it is better for the debate over his comments to be held publicly than suppressed. — Wall Street Journal
Agencies 12.30pm: 1600 troops move into Washington
The Pentagon has moved about 1600 US Army troops into the Washington, D.C. region, after several nights of protests in the city.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of a military or national guard response to protests that stemmed from the death of an African American man in police custody.
“Active duty elements are postured on military bases in the National Capitol Region but are not in Washington, DC,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said in a statement.
He said the troops were on “heightened alert status” but “are not participating in defence support to civil authority operations.” —Reuters
Max Maddison 12.15pm: Premier condemns indigenous teen arrest
The footage of a male police officer throwing an indigenous teenager into the ground demonstrates “we still have a long way to go”, says NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, as Australia prepares for Black Lives Matter protests across the country.
While an investigation into the incident is ongoing, Police Commissioner Mick Fuller and Ms Berejiklian both condemned the incident, which resulted in the teenager suffering minor injuries.
Police are investigating the arrest in Surry Hills on Monday, which involved the 16-year-old male allegedly telling the police officer “I’ll crack you in the f*cking jaw, bro” resulting in the officer sweeping the restrained teenager's legs and heavily throwing him into the ground.
In an interview, Ms Berejiklian said she appreciated that police had already restricted officer’s duties while they looked into the matter.
“I think I thought what most Australians thought, and that is – we still have a long way to go in our country,” Ms Berejiklian told ABC News.
Police Commissioner Mick Fuller also apologised to the teenager, saying that while police officers are trained to use the leg sweeping manoeuvre, they also needed to show restraint.
“From my perspective absolutely, regardless of whether he should or shouldn’t have been arrested, regardless of whether he has committed a crime or not, we certainly should have handled the situation better,” Mr Fuller told Ben Fordham on 2GB.
READ THE FULL STORY here.
Joseph Menn 12pm: White nationalist Facebook accounts blocked
Facebook says it has suspended accounts associated with white nationalist groups after some advocated bringing weapons to the current wave of anti-racist protests. Company officials also said they removed accounts falsely claiming allegiance to Antifa in order to bring discredit to the anti-fascist movement. Antifa adherents have said they focus on defending people from attacks by authorities or vigilantes, but they have been vilified by President Donald Trump who, without citing evidence, said they were instigators of anti-police violence.
Some of the removed white nationalist accounts were associated with the Proud Boys, which Facebook previously classified as a dangerous group. The others had connections to a group called the American Guard, which is now classified the same way. — Reuters
Agencies 11.30am: Crowds defy NY curfew
Thousands of demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd have remained on New York City streets after an 8pm curfew. Mayor Bill de Blasio had doubled down on a citywide curfew, moving it forward from 11pm, but rejected urging from President Donald Trump and an offer from Governor Andrew Cuomo to bring in the National Guard.
People marched in groups of thousands in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, as merchants boarded up their businesses. As the the curfew time arrived, many were still in the streets and continued marching, with officers initially standing by and allowing them. But officers started ordering people to move along, and began taking people into custody. Demonstrators who had been on the West Side Highway in lower Manhattan were herded off, with parts of the roadway blocked off behind them. — AP
John Jurgensen 11am: Activism or entertainment?
An online anti-racism campaign originating in the music industry has spread across every corner of the entertainment world and social media creating both a groundswell of solidarity and much disagreement about its execution and effectiveness.
The activism effort, dubbed Blackout Tuesday, was a response to the killing of George Floyd and the volatile demonstrations it continues to fuel nationwide. The internet campaign was aimed at supporting the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement, and amplifying the work of black musicians, filmmakers, writers and other creators. It grew out of a call for the music business to stop for a day (#TheShowMustBePaused) and take stock of its obligations to black artists and communities.
As with any viral call to action, however, Blackout Tuesday sparked conflicting interpretations of its goals. Some of the world’s biggest stars treated it as an extended moment of silence, with musicians including Drake and Cardi B turning their most effective tools for promotion, namely Instagram, into a flood of symbolic black squares.
Other celebrities voiced skepticism over the efforts and concern that it would dilute more urgent forms of activism. On Twitter, the rapper Lil Nas X wrote, “What if we posted donation and petitions links on instagram all at the same time instead of pitch black images”?
Organisers of the #TheShowMustBePaused initiative sought to clarify things with a message posted Tuesday: “Please note: The purpose was never to mute ourselves. The purpose is to disrupt. The purpose is to pause from business as usual.”
Major entertainment companies looked for ways to participate that also lined up with their business missions. On the landing page of streaming music service Spotify, the heading “In Solidarity” introduced a Black Lives Matter playlist, which featured “songs of empowerment and pride.”
Apple Music subscribers were met with a message written in black and white, including the line: “This moment calls upon us all to speak and act against racism and injustice of all kinds.” — The Wall Street Journal
Michael C. Bender 10.30am: Church walk sparks debate
The decision to forcibly remove a crowd of peaceful protesters before President Trump walked to a damaged St. John’s Church and posed for photos is drawing broad criticism while garnering praise from conservative backers.
For Mr Trump’s supporters, it was a reassuring moment after several nights of chaos and a palpable warning to looters that law and order would be restored. “He should show strength, and I think he has,” Phil Ruffin, a casino billionaire and major Trump donor, said.
To critics, the move to clear the area —which was ordered by Attorney General William Barr — was an authoritarian tactic contradicting the president’s declaration just minutes earlier that he was an ally of all peaceful protests. Mr Trump had also previously expressed condolences for the family of George Floyd, who was killed last week in the custody of Minneapolis police.
“The president held up the Bible at St. John’s Church yesterday,” Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden said in Philadelphia. “I just wish he opened it once in a while, instead of brandishing it. If he opened it, he could have learned something.”
Media reports and witness statements from the scene described a peaceful protest that police dispersed with tear gas. In a statement about the incident, the US Park Police said protestors were throwing bricks, frozen water bottles and caustic liquids, and that intelligence had shown calls for violence against the police, who found glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles along the street.
The agency said it first issued warnings via loudspeaker before using smoke canisters and pepper balls. A fence was later installed around the park and the area cordoned off.
Inside the White House it was viewed as a successful move that simultaneously signalled two of the president’s top political priorities: portraying himself as an enforcer of law and order and as a champion of religious freedom. The White House released a 30-second video set against dramatic music showing the president walking to the church and raising the Bible above his head. “It was illustrative that rioters won’t prevail,” White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway said of the moment.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 2, 2020
Several top advisers had spent much of Monday morning dissuading the president from deploying active-duty troops to states, aides said. The one-block walk to the Episcopal church — past graffiti-covered buildings, tattered signs and other detritus littering the streets — provided the president with the show of strength aides said he was seeking.
Mr Trump was energetic after he returned to the West Wing, aides said, and told his team the administration had to do more to help reopen churches that, like most other places in America, had been closed for months due to the pandemic.
The president publicly expressed his satisfaction, saying there were “no problems” in Washington and crediting himself for a reduction in violence.
Washington, D.C., was the safest place on earth last night!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2020
“D.C. had no problems last night,” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. “Many arrests. Great job done by all. Overwhelming force. Domination. Likewise, Minneapolis was great (thank you President Trump!).”
Mr Trump’s decision to visit St. John’s came late in the day, after tense morning meetings with his national-security team in which he pushed to invoke the Insurrection Act, but he was persuaded to hold off on that decision, senior administration officials said. During a call later in the day with state governors, he said that many of them looked weak and that they needed to dominate the streets to quell the protest.
Some senior officials said they weren’t briefed on the details about the trip to the church. A final decision wasn’t made until the evening, aides said. One senior official said the call came around the time Mr Barr walked out to Lafayette Square at about 6.15pm to survey law enforcement and the growing crowd of protesters.
Defense officials told reporters that Army General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defence Secretary Mark Esper thought the president was leaving the White House to see nearby National Guardsmen, not pose at the church.
Mr Barr, whom the president on Monday had put in charge of coordinating federal law enforcement in Washington, directed federal agents in the park to clear protestors from the area, a senior administration official said. A Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed Mr Barr was leading federal law-enforcement operations but declined to say whether he knew of the tactics that would be used against the protesters.
The Justice Department official said that law-enforcement agencies decided early Monday to clear the park and extend the perimeter north of the White House because of the violent protests the day before. The official said that had been the plan regardless of Mr Trump’s walk to St. John’s. Mr Barr was surprised to see that hadn’t been done when he arrived in the park before Mr Trump spoke, and told law-enforcement officials to immediately extend the perimeter, the official said.
The Secret Service declined to comment on what it described as “our protective means and methods,” citing security concerns.
At least one other landmark in Washington was considered for Mr Trump’s visit on Monday, but the church was chosen in part because of its proximity to the White House and the religious symbolism that aides hoped would resonate in a country where about two-thirds of citizens identify as Christian. “I can’t think of somewhere he could go that is more indicative of his priorities,” a White House official said.
The president was also frustrated with the coverage of his handling of the protests, aides said. The image of a darkened White House aired during the weekend on cable networks and trended on social media amid reports of the president being moved to a safe basement bunker as protesters flooded the streets around him. — The Wall Street Journal
Richard Ferguson 10am: Shorten on Trump leadership
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten says most Australians would be “disturbed” by US President Donald Trump’s leadership through the American anti-racism riots. Mr Shorten — who once called the President “barking mad” before he was elected in 2016 — told the Nine Network that he could not “figure out” if Mr Trump believed his military crackdown rhetoric or not.
“I don’t know if he has got a very clever and cunning strategy to appeal to his base of voters by demonising the other people. Or if he really believes some of the stuff that he is saying?” he said. “Either way ... most Australians are disturbed by his leadership at the moment.
Mr Shorten has been a consistently pro-American voice in the Labor Party, but said on Wednesday that he was not sure if the superpower was a “good cop” anymore. “Australians like America. I think for the first time in our relationship since World War II we don’t know if there is a good cop on the beat any more, in terms of America and it’s consistent decision-making. I think it is really, really disturbing and upsetting,” he said.
Max Maddison 9.45am: Sunrise reporter speaks
The Channel 7 reporter attacked by police while on-air has spoken about the “absolutely terrifying experience” which left her bruised and unable to sleep. Speaking on Sunrise, Amelia Brace said she was “disappointed” by the actions of US police, who violently cleared the area surrounding the White House to enable President Donald Trump to have a photo opportunity outside a local church.
“It was an absolutely terrifying experience,” Brace said. “I can feel it across my shoulders where I was whacked with that baton and we’ve got welts from the rubber bullets … It’s similar to if you were shot too closely with a paintball gun.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has demanded an investigation after #7NEWS US Correspondent @AmeliaBrace and her cameraman were assaulted by police live on air.
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) June 2, 2020
More on this story:https://t.co/nUmn2Uufua pic.twitter.com/G2qCfoqH4i
While covering the protests, Brace and cameraman Tim Myers were attacked with batons and police riot shields, attracting international outrage at the blatant police disregard for the media. However, Brace said the story was greater than simply about them.
“It’s not just about the media and the fact we were attacked while doing our job, but it was the fact that it was before curfew, so every single person at that protest had a legal right to be there,” she said. “To see people tear gassed to make way for a photo opportunity for the President is outrageous.”
READ THE FULL STORY here.
Agencies 9.30am: Mother of Floyd’s daughter speaks
The mother of George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, said that she wanted the world to know that her little girl lost a good father who would never get to see his daughter grow up.
“I want everybody to know that this is what those officers took. At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families,” Roxie Washington said during a Minneapolis news conference with her young daughter at her side.
“I’m here for my baby and I’m here for George because I want justice for him. I want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good.”
Floyd died on Memorial Day after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the black man’s neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving and pleading for air. — AP
Jennifer Calfas 9am: City by city — state of the union
Protests continue to ripple across US cities already deep in crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic. Here is a look at where things stand in various cities.
Minneapolis / St. Paul
Governor Tim Walz said the state is launching an investigation of “systemic discriminatory practices” in the Minneapolis Police Department over the past 10 years.
After a week of protests in Minneapolis over the death of Mr. Floyd, the city has seen a decline in widespread violence. Property damage in Minneapolis is approaching $1 billion, said Jonathan Weinhagen president and chief executive of Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. That doesn’t include job losses or looting.
The sheriff’s office in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, said 544 people have been stopped by police and either cited and released or charged with something related to the protest between May 25 and Tuesday afternoon. Of that number, 82 per cent are from Minnesota, the rest are either from out of state or their residence was unknown.
New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio extended a citywide curfew through the rest of the week after stores across Manhattan and the Bronx were left ransacked and badly damaged following a night of looting and protests that turned violent.
The city will prohibit vehicular traffic below 96th street in Manhattan starting at 8pm when the curfew begins, said NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan. Exceptions include residents, essential workers, buses and truck deliveries, he said.
More than 700 people were arrested Monday night and early Tuesday morning, according to police officials. At least seven officers were injured responding to the demonstrations and looting, the officials said.
Crowds have demonstrated around New York City since Thursday night, filling Times Square in Manhattan and gathering at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, among other sites. While mostly peaceful, the gatherings have turned violent at times. Investigators believe outside anarchist groups coordinated efforts to incite violence at the city’s protests, NYPD officials said Sunday.
Washington, D.C.
A crowd gathered across from the northern edge of Lafayette Square, the site cleared a day earlier shortly before President Trump walked there from the White House to stand before St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Law-enforcement personnel, in military fatigues and helmets, faced protesters from the far side of the fence along the park’s edge. The mood was tense, but peaceful as the crowd regularly broke into chants including “Black Lives Matter,” “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and the names of Mr. Floyd and other black people killed in interactions with the police.
Mr Trump said he is ordering thousands of armed soldiers, military personnel and law-enforcement officers to the nation’s capital to quell protests and protect federal buildings and national monuments.
Louisville
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said a citywide curfew, starting at 9pm, will now extend through June 8, as demonstrations continued in response to the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black emergency-room technician in Louisville who was killed by police during a “no-knock warrant” raid of her apartment earlier this year.
Police and the state National Guard early Monday fatally shot David McAtee, whom Mr Fischer described as a “treasured Louisvillian,” when police said they were trying to disperse a crowd around midnight and “were fired upon,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.
Two Louisville Metro Police officers who fired their weapons were placed on administrative leave, “because they either failed to have their body cameras turned on or wear them.” The mayor fired Police Chief Steve Conrad, who had previously planned to retire next month.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Los Angeles County again extended a county-wide curfew in the hope that it would help quell violence. Los Angeles police said they had arrested 533 people related to a Friday night looting rampage, while police in Santa Monica said they arrested 438 following a similar spree on Sunday. Hundreds of protesters carried signs and marched along Hollywood Boulevard Tuesday, according to local news footage.
Atlanta
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Tuesday he was charging six Atlanta police officers with using excessive force following an incident Saturday night involving two college students. During the incident, which was caught on video and police bodycams, police broke the windows of a car and pulled a man, who attends Morehouse College, and a woman, who attends Spelman College, out of the car and arrested them. Police shot the man with a Taser. Two of the officers at the scene were fired Sunday and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Police Chief Erika Shields both apologized to the students. Both students have been released from jail.
Chicago
Hundreds of protesters gathered near Wrigley Field before marching south toward downtown. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said looting had continued, but wasn’t as widespread as previous days.
St. Louis
Four St. Louis police officers were hit by gunfire as protests became violent late Monday night, Police Chief John Hayden said. Chief Hayden added none of the officers faced life-threatening injuries. About 200 people took to the streets Monday evening, after thousands of peaceful protesters had largely dispersed. They attacked officers with rocks and fireworks and looted, Chief Hayden said. “They obviously had no intention on protesting or doing anything constructive,” he said. — The Wall Street Journal
Rachel Levy 8.30am: George Bush releases statement
Former President George W. Bush has issued a statement on the protests, saying he and his wife, Laura, are “anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country.”
“The heroes of America—from Frederick Douglass, to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King, Jr.—are heroes of unity,” Mr Bush said. “We can only see the reality of America’s need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and disenfranchised.
Statement by President George W. Bush pic.twitter.com/KjEolhAN6U
— George W. Bush Presidential Center (@TheBushCenter) June 2, 2020
“America’s greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very different backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity. The doctrine and habits of racial superiority, which once nearly split our country, still threaten our Union. The answers to American problems are found by living up to American ideals — to the fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights,” Bush said in the statement.
— The Wall Street Journal
Jennifer Calfas 8.15am: LA curfew extended after night of looting
Los Angeles County extended a county-wide curfew in the hope that it would help quell violence. Some cities issued their own earlier curfews, including Beverly Hills, where curfew began at 1pm, and Santa Monica, where it started at 1.30 p.m.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore says more than 2700 people have been arrested since protests and violence began in the nation’s second-largest city.
The chief told the city Police Commission that about 2500 of those arrests were for failure to disperse or curfew violations. The remainder were for crimes including burglary, looting, assaults on police officers and other violence. The chief gave the figures during a report to the Police Department’s civilian oversight board.
Several new demonstrations today in Los Angeles have remained peaceful.
Chief Moore apologised after he said George Floyd’s death was on the hands of those looting and rioting as much as the officers involved. “Looting is wrong, but it is not the equivalent of murder and I did not mean to equate the two,” Mr Moore said in a post on Twitter. “I deeply regret and humbly apologise for my characterisation.”
Let me be clear: the police officers involved were responsible for the death of George Floyd.
— Chief Michel Moore (@LAPDChiefMoore) June 2, 2020
— The Wall Street Journal
LISA MASCARO 7.50am: Pelosi urges Trump to be ‘healer in chief’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged President Donald Trump to be a “healer in chief” as the protests gripped Congress. Pelosi invoked Biblical scripture to reject Trump’s clampdown on peaceful protesters outside the White House and she drew on past presidents — including George H.W. Bush in the aftermath of the Rodney King unrest and Barack Obama following the death of Eric Garner — as models of the nation’s chief executive at a time of crisis.
“We would hope that the president of the United States would follow the lead of so many presidents before him to be a healer in chief and not a fanner of the flame,” Pelosi said.
Congress appears to have shifted tone in reaction to the protesters outside its doors.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged “racism in America”, and said the outrage was understandable. McConnell said it’s not only the death of Floyd at the hands of white police in Minnesota drawing protesters into the streets, but of other African Americans including Breonna Taylor in his home-state of Kentucky.
“There is no question that there is residual racism in America,” McConnell told reporters. “It’s been a longtime dilemma and we all wish we could get to a better place.”
This is the scene outside the White House today - day 8. pic.twitter.com/vcDMKcGhGt
— cameron stewart (@camstewarttheoz) June 2, 2020
Several Republicans, including Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, called Floyd’s death a “murder.” McConnell declined to directly comment on Trump’s handling of the crisis. However, several Republicans suggested it would be better if Trump helped calm the nation rather than escalate the already tense conditions in Washington and across the country. — AP
Agencies 7.30am: Minnesota launchs civil rights investigation
The state of Minnesota has launched a civil rights investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department following the death of George Floyd.
Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced the filing of the formal complaint at a news conference. The governor and Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said they hope to reach agreement with the city to identify short-term ways to address the police department’s history of racial discrimination, and use the investigation to find long-term solutions for systemic change.
Lucero said their goal is to negotiate a consent decree with the city that courts could enforce with injunctions and financial penalties. There are precedents, she said, including a consent decree approved in Chicago last year after the US Justice Department found a long history of racial bias and excessive use of force by police.
Widely seen bystander video showing Floyd’s death has sparked violent protests around the world. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers involved were fired but have not been charged.
“We know that deeply seated issues exist,” the governor said. “And the reason I know it is we saw the casual nature of the erasing of George Floyd’s life and humanity. We also know by the reaction of the community. They expected nothing to happen, and the reason is because nothing did happen for so many times.” Walz said the investigation into the police department’s policies, procedures and practices over the past 10 years will determine if the force has engaged in systemic discrimination toward people of colour, and root it out. Lucero will lead the investigation.
All 12 members of the Minneapolis City Council endorsed a statement read by Council President Lisa Bender at a news conference later Tuesday in support of the investigation.
Agencies 7.15am: Protests spread to Paris
Riot police in Paris have used tear gas as they faced off with protesters setting fires amid growing global outrage after the death of George Floyd. French protesters took a knee and raised their fists while firefighters struggled to extinguish multiple blazes as a largely peaceful, multiracial demonstration degenerated into scattered tensions.
Several thousand people defied a virus-related ban on protests following the deaths of George Floyd and Adama Traore, a French black man who died in police custody. Electric scooters and construction barriers went up in flames on the first day French cafes were allowed to open after nearly three months of coronavirus lockdown.
Thousands marched peacefully through Sydney, while thousands more demonstrated in the Dutch capital of The Hague and hundreds rallied in Tel Aviv.
Expressions of anger erupted in multiple languages on social networks, with thousands of Swedes joining an online protest and others speaking out under the banner of #BlackOutTuesday. — AFP, AP
MAX MADDISON 7am: Sinodinis pursues TV crew attack
Arthur Sinodinos, the Australian ambassador to the United States, is in discussion with the US State Department over the attack by police on two Australians media crews in Washington yesterday.
“I understand that Channel 7 will make a formal police complaint asking to have the matter investigated,” Mr Sinodinos said in a statement. “We are in discussion with the State Department, and they have offered assistance to identify where the complaint should be targeted.”
The Channel 7 crew — reporter Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers — were attacked by police officers while reporting on the protests outside the White House. Both Australian citizens are receiving consulate support, Mr Sinodinos said.
Scott Morrison has demanded an investigation into the attack. Seven’s news and public affairs boss, Craig McPherson, said the police attack on reporter Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers was “nothing short of wanton thuggery”.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Australian embassy in Washington had been asked to investigate this incident, with a view to launching a formal complaint.
The US ambassador to Australia, Arthur B Culvahouse Jr, says his country remains committed to “protecting journalists” in a statement released via the embassy’s Twitter account late on Tuesday.
A statement from Ambassador Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr. pic.twitter.com/EW5aPaptjE
— US Embassy Canberra (@USAembassyinOZ) June 2, 2020
Agencies 6.50am: NYC extends curfew all week
New York, the fabled “City that Never Sleeps” that had just been emerging from weeks under lockdown over the coronavirus, extended a curfew through to Sunday that will start each night at 8pm.
After chaos erupted again overnight amid protests over George Floyd’s death — despite an 11pm curfew — Mayor Bill de Blasio doubled down on a citywide curfew but rejected urging from President Donald Trump and an offer from Governor Andrew Cuomo to bring in the National Guard.
The police department announced it would allow no vehicle traffic south of 96th Street in Manhattan after 8pm, though it said residents, essential workers, buses and truck deliveries were exempt.
Cuomo offered a particularly scathing assessment of the city’s response to the unrest, saying authorities had not done their job. “We’re going to have a tough few days. We’re going to beat it back,” de Blasio, a Democrat, said in announcing that an 8pm to 5am curfew would remain through Sunday.
As he spoke at City Hall, midtown Manhattan was pocked with smashed storefronts, with Macy’s flagship store among those hit. A police sergeant was hospitalised after being hit by a car in the Bronx.
“The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night,” Cuomo said at a briefing in Albany. “Look at the videos. It was a disgrace.” He said the mayor was underestimating the problem and the nation’s largest police force wasn’t deployed in sufficient numbers, though the city had said it doubled the usual police presence.
Unprompted, Cuomo brought up the possibility of using his power as governor to replace the mayor and deploy the National Guard over de Blasio’s objections, then immediately shot down the idea as legally impractical and unnecessary. — AP
Jarrett Renshaw 6.40am: Biden vows to heal US wounds
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has vowed to try to heal the racial divide in the US and blasted Donald Trump’s response to protests over racism and police misconduct.
Speaking in Philadelphia, a city rocked by sometimes violent demonstrations in recent days, the former vice president sought to draw a vivid contrast between himself and Trump, whom he will face in the November 3 general election.
“The country is crying out for leadership, leadership that can unite us,” Biden said on Tuesday in his first major address in weeks.
Biden, who served eight years as vice president under Barack Obama, the first black US president, cast himself as the candidate who best understands the longstanding pain and grief in the country’s black communities.
Biden said the killing of George Floyd, the African-American man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police last week, was a “wake-up call” for the nation that must force it to address the stain of systemic racism.
“We can’t leave this moment thinking we can once again turn away and do nothing,” Biden said. “We can’t.”
Biden was critical of Republican Trump’s visit to a historic church across from the White House. The church visit was preceded by law enforcement authorities dispersing a crowd near the church with smoke canisters and flash grenades.
That’s what the presidency is: a duty of care — to all of us, not just our voters, not just our donors, but all of us. pic.twitter.com/rWHywb5cHV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 2, 2020
“We can be forgiven for believing that the president is more interested in power than in principle,” said Biden, who accused Trump of “serving the passions” of his conservative base at the expense of the rest of the country. Biden pledged he would “not traffic in fear or division” or “fan the flames of hate”.
Trump campaign senior adviser Katrina Pierson accused Biden of making “the crass political calculation that unrest in America is a benefit to his candidacy”. — Reuters
Agencies 6.30am: Trump tours second religious site
Donald Trump toured a Catholic shrine in his second straight religious-themed appearance as the nation grappled with widespread unrest over the death of George Floyd. Critics said the president was misusing religious symbols for partisan purposes. The White House said Trump and first lady Melania Trump were observing a “moment of remembrance,” laying a wreath in a quiet visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine.
The visit came a day after Trump declared himself to be the “president of law and order” and then walked to St. John’s Episcopal Church across from the White House after Lafayette Park was forcibly cleared of protesters. He held up a Bible for photos in front of the church, known as “The Church of the Presidents,” which had been damaged by fire during weekend protests.
Back at the White House, Trump signed an executive order to advance international religious freedom during a private Oval Office event with the first lady, Vice President Mike Pence and others, according to senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Conway defended Trump amid continued criticism of the St. John’s visit, telling Fox News Channel that he held up a Bible outside the church as a “symbol” to those who set it afire.
Washington Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory said he was “baffled” by Trump’s visit to the shrine and called it “reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles, which call us to defend the rights of all people even those with whom we might disagree.” Gregory said the late pope was an “ardent defender” of human rights. “He certainly would not condone the use of tear gas and other deterrents to silence, scatter or intimidate them for a photo opportunity in front of a place of worship,” Gregory said in a statement. — AP
Cameron Stewart 6am: Teargas clears way for walk
It was a walk designed to send the message that Donald Trump was taking America back from those who were setting it alight.
But for the US President to walk from the White House to the historic St John’s Episcopal Church that had been partially torched the previous night there was a small problem: police first had to clear the hundreds of protesters who were in his way.
Minutes before he addressed the nation from the Rose Garden — declaring he was the “law and order” President who would use the US military if needed to “dominate” protesters across the nation — the riot police moved in.
Explosions could be heard from the Rose Garden during Mr Trump’s speech as teargas and rubber bullets were fired at protesters several hundred metres from the White House.
Eventually the police gassed and pushed the protesters out of Lafayette Park opposite the White House to clear a safe path to the church, which every sitting president has prayed at since 1816.
Then, in a confected photo opportunity for the ages, Mr Trump stood in front of the damaged church and held up a Bible, declaring “we have a great country, we will make it even greater, it won’t take long … it will be greater than ever before”. He was then joined by a group including Attorney-General Bill Barr, Defence Secretary Mark Esper and chief of staff Mark Meadows.
It was, symbolically and perhaps even politically, Mr Trump’s last stand after almost a week of devastating protests that have left the nation’s cities ablaze amid the worst civil unrest in a generation.
But the decision to fire teargas at peaceful protesters in order to get a photo opportunity only inflamed many protesters who took to the streets across the country for the sixth night in the wake of the police killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis a week ago.
US media reported that Mr Trump’s decision to walk to the church was driven by his anger at reports he had been forced by protesters to take shelter in the White House bunker on Sunday.
The Episcopal bishop of Washington, Reverend Mariann Budde, said she was “outraged” that her historic church had been used for such a photo opportunity.
“I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and was not given even a courtesy call that they would be clearing (the area) with teargas so they could use one of our churches as a prop,” Bishop Budde said.
Mr Trump’s opponent at November’s presidential election, Joe Biden, accused him of “using the American military against the American people”.
“He tear-gassed peaceful protesters and fired rubber bullets. For a photo,” Mr Biden said.
Mr Trump used his address — which supporters and critic had been calling for since Friday — to deliver an ultimatum to protesters and to state governors, who he said had been “weak” in fighting the violent protests.
But his message was one of defiance rather than healing.
“These are not acts of peaceful protest, these are acts of domestic terror,” he said of the violence that has left at least eight people dead and buildings burnt and looted across major US cities.
“I am mobilising all available federal resources, civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting.” He called on mayors and governors to call out “overwhelming” law enforcement, including the National Guard, to combat protesters. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” Mr Trump said.
He said all Americans had been “rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd. But we cannot allow the righteous cries and peaceful protests to be drowned out by an angry mob”.
He described the violence and destruction in Washington the previous night as “a total disgrace” and said he was dispatching “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting”.
“Our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa and others,” he said, referring to the militant anti-fascist group. “We must never give in to anger or hatred.”
The large numbers of police in Washington strictly enforced a 7pm curfew preventing further violence, but the President’s words did not stop fresh violence from breaking out in many other cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago and New York, where hundreds of people looted stores and tried to set fires, watched by police.
The National Guard has activated 67,000 troops, the largest number ever called out in the US.
In a chiding of governors, Mr Trump said they were weak and had failed in their responsibility to keep their cities safe: “You have to dominate. If you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time.”
Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia
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