Donald Trump has claimed the city of Minneapolis was “under siege” before the US National Guard was called in during a press conference on Friday in which he implored other cities facing major protests to call the federal government for assistance.
“They were ripping that place apart,” the president said about the city in which George Floyd was killed at the hands of a white police officer named Derek Chauvin, who has since been charged with second-degree murder. “It was under siege like nobody’s ever seen.”
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser meanwhile called on Mr Trump to remove “all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence” from the city as protests have continued for ten days.
Check out The Independent's live coverage below:
Trump clashes with black female reporter again who asks about unemployment rates
John Bennett writes: [Trump] ignored a question about George Floyd, a black man killed by white police officers in Minneapolis last week. And he grew agitated with Ms Alcindor when she asked how, despite lower overall unemployment, rising joblessness among African-Americans and Asian-Americans could be considered positives.
"Excuse me, I'd like to sign this bill," Mr Trump said before telling Ms Alcindor: "You are something."
She soon defended herself on Twitter, calling her's a "critical question."
Calls have grown in recent days for New York City officials to end a curfew amid protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, as reports show police arresting essential workers alongside demonstrators.
The 8:00pm curfew has caused confusion and further disruption in the city, with vague guidelines making it unclear for many workers whether they were still considered essential — as some industries have been labelled throughout the coronavirus pandemic
In once incident captured on camera Thursday night, New York City police officers appeared to detain a food delivery worker shortly after 8:00pm.
The worker was filmed pleading with the cops as he was handcuffed near Central Park West and 109th Street, saying: “Are you serious? I’m working! I’m working!”
Several officers pull the delivery man away as several protestors shouted: “Let him go!
Story to come...
Trump says he hopes George Floyd 'looking down' and seeing today’s jobs numbers as 'a great day for him'
The president said: "Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying, 'This is a great thing that's happening for our country. It's a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody. It's a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day."
Asked how the rate of unemployment among black Americans can be considered a "victory" as it continues to increase, the president told a report outside the White House, "You are really something."
Trump urges governors to 'dominate the streets' with military forces to end protests
John Bennett writes: Donald Trump used the hawkish language of his embattled defence secretary, Mark Esper, calling on governors to "dominate the streets" and put down protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
The president, while taking a victory lap in the Rose Garden at the White House, told governors that using National Guard forces would end the protests "so fast their heads will spin."
“They were ripping that place apart,” the president says of protestors in Minneapolis. “It was under siege like nobody’s ever seen.”
“We want to get all of this finished,” he added.
More to come...
Los Angeles officials have proposed sweeping cuts to the city’s annual budget and police department while calling for that money to be invested in marginalized communities after nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd.
Mayor Eric Garcetti announced at a press conference on Wednesday night the city would “identify $250 million in cuts so we can invest in jobs, in health, in education and in healing” following demands from the Black Lives Matter movement and other activist groups to divest funding from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Those groups called for the city to implement a “People’s Budget” that would fund housing and environmental projects, as well as promote opportunities for people of colour, Los Angeles Magazine reported.
In announcing the budgetary cuts, the mayor added: “It is time to move our rhetoric towards action to end racism in our city.”
Mexicans protest against police brutality after man ‘arrested for not wearing face mask’ dies in custody
Protests against police brutality have erupted in Mexico's second-largest city, Guadalajara, following the death in custody of a man reportedly arrested for not wearing a face mask.
Police cars were set on fire and buildings including the government palace vandalised during capital of the state of Jalisco. Police responded with force, beating demonstrators with batons and firing tear gas
The demonstrations began after footage circulated on social media showing a young man, identified as Giovanni Lopez, being detained by police on 4 May. Bystanders can be heard saying the police were arresting him for not using a face mask, reports Rory Sullivan:
The UK embassy in Washington has raised concerns with the US administration over British journalists who were subject to police action while covering protests over the death of George Floyd, Downing Street has said.
The move comes amid growing anger over the handling of media covering protest marches, with high-profile footage showing officers blocking camera and even arresting one US correspondent during a live on-air report.
More below:
UK raises concerns over police treatment of British journalists with Trump administration
Move comes amid claims police targeting media covering protests over death of George FloydIn the 72 hours since Monday’s melee at Lafayette Square, the White House has been transformed into a veritable fortress – the physical manifestation of Donald Trump’s vision of law-and-order “domination” over the millions of Americans who have taken to the streets to protest racial injustice.
Deborah Berke, dean of the Yale School of Architecture, said the White House barricaded as if it were a military base, with multiple layers of black fencing surrounding the limestone Georgian structure, conveys the opposite message and represents a physical violation of democracy.
“I think the need to fortify your house – and it’s not his house; it’s our house – shows weakness,” she said. “The president of the United States should not feel threatened by his or her own citizens.”
Here are Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker, Matt Zapotosky and Josh Dawsey with more:
Heavily secured White House at odds with its long history as ‘the people’s house’
Amped up security is physical manifestation of president’s law-and-order ‘domination’ over Americans, write Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker, Matt Zapotosky and Josh DawseyA spokesman for Boris Johnson has said the UK embassy in Washington has raised the issue of protests with the Trump administration.
The conversation carries on from the lead of other nations like Australia, which has opened an investigation into the treatment of its journalists on american soil after officers in riot gear struck an Australian 7NEWS journalist and cameraman while they were live on air.
Donald Trump moved overnight to place more fencing barricades on the White House perimeter amid nationwide protests and racial tensions.
New black metal walls were secured along the west and south perimeters on Thursday, providing president Trump with an extensive security zone around the White House.
The decision to close more avenues and parks around the complex comes despite demonstrations against institutionalised racism having been peaceful since Monday.
Trump builds wall of fencing around White House amid George Floyd protests
'Keep in mind that’s the people’s house', said Washington DC Mayor as walls went up around White HouseFrench police have banned a demonstration planned to take place in front of the US Embassy in Paris on Saturday after disorder earlier this week.
The Paris police department said it had decided to ban the demonstrations because of the risks of social disorder and health dangers from large gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trouble had broken out at another anti-police demonstration in the French capital on Wednesday, when thousands turned up despite a police ban on the event in memory of Adama Traore - a 24-year old black Frenchman who died in a 2016 police operation which some have likened to George Floyd's death.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said people had the right to express themselves, but should the Covid-19 disease spread at protests, it would be impossible to trace all participants.
"Any mass gathering at this time is a lottery with peoples' lives," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Around 50,000 Australians are expected at nationwide events in the country as anger over Floyd's death in Minneapolis also focuses attention on mistreatment of indigenous Australians.
Trump’s threat of military action ‘very dangerous’, warn retired US generals
Donald Trump’s response to the George Floyd protests have prompted a growing outcry from retired US military generals.
The presidents' defence secretary and three former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs have expressed grave concerns about his willingness to wield the military as a club against American citizens.
Read our full story on that here:
NFL players unite in video calling out league organisers
More than a dozen NFL players have united in a powerful video message calling on the league's organisers to take a more explicit anti-racism stance and admit it was "wrong to silence" players who have spoken out in the past.
The 71-second clip was released on social media last night features Patrick Mahomes, Saquon Barkley and Michael Thomas, among others, speaking in turn and then together.
Addressing the NFL, they ask: "It's been 10 days since George Floyd was brutally murdered. How many times do we need to ask you to listen to your players? What will it take? For one of us to be murdered by police brutality?"
The players then take turns asking the question, "What if I was George Floyd?"
They also name several other black men and women who have recently been killed, including Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Eric Garner.
The players say they "will not be silenced" and "assert their right to peacefully protest".
They call on the NFL to "condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people", admit it was wrong to silence its players from peacefully protesting, and explicitly state that it believes "black lives matter".
The NFL infamously banned players from taking a knee at matches to protest against police brutality, and effectively exiled Colin Kaepernick for doing so.
The league issued a statement saying it was "saddened" about Floyd's death last month, but that was condemned as "complete trash" and hypocrisy by Jacksonville Jaguars player Peyton Thompson.
Twitter bans Trump's George Floyd tribute video over copyright
Twitter has banned a Donald Trump tribute video about George Floyd, citing a copyright complaint.
The video – posted on his campaign account – included a host of photos and videos of marches and violence, with the president's voice speaking over it.
But it has now been disabled, with Twitter saying it had received a copyright complaint. It did not indicate which part of the video had caused it to be banned, reports Andrew Griffin:
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