A statue of Charles Linn, a founder of Birmingham who fought for the Confederacy, has been torn down in the center of the city amid rioting. A Confederate obelisc in the same park may become the iconoclasts’ next trophy.
The brass statue of the 17th century businessman was toppled on Sunday night by a group of protesters, who convened in the Linn Park named after the same historic figure. The moment the cheering crowd brought it to the ground was shared by a local correspondent, Jonathan Hardison.
Video of statue coming down in Linn Park, where @randallwoodfin is now addressing the crowd, asking them to stand down after a pickup truck attempted to pull down a Confederatr monument pic.twitter.com/alF4TOWyOP
The statue is part of Confederate legacy targeted by the protesters. Another subject of their wrath, an obelisk-shaped monument erected in 1905 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, proved to be more resistant to their demolition efforts.
The events in Birmingham park were part of nationwide protests and rioting over the death of George Floyd, who was killed in custody of Minnesota police.
In 2017, Birmingham clashed with Alabama Attorney General’s office over a decision to cover the historic obelisk with plywood and tarp. The legal battle ended last year after the state Supreme Court ruled against the city, ordering the removal of the barrier.
Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith was filmed kicking a lying man in the street. He said he had chased and beaten up the ‘white boy’ for breaking his window and didn’t consider it a hate crime.
Footage of the violent incident, which reportedly happened in Los Angeles amid protests over police brutality targeting people of color, was published by TMZ Sports on Sunday. It shows Smith and an unidentified man laying on the ground.
The NBA star gets up and kicks the other man several times. When the blond-haired person gets up, Smith punches him before letting him run away. A couple of men, who appear to be Smith’s friends, grab him by his arms and walk him away.
Smith, who is black, later posted a video in which he explained the incident. He claimed the other man in the video was “one of these little, motherf***ing white boys” and had angered him by breaking a window of his truck.
JR Smith: “One of these little MF whiteboys broke my window so i chased him down and whooped his ass” pic.twitter.com/NfyE3BHIxF
“This ain't no hate crime,” he added. “I ain't got no problem with nobody that ain't got no problem with me. It's a problem with the motherf***ing system, that's it.”
Smith has been a professional basketball player since 2004 and played for the Cavaliers between 2015 and last year, when he became a free agent.
Multiple fires are flaring near the White House as a day of peaceful protests against police brutality escalated from tense standoffs with police into rioting and vandalism.
St. John’s church in Lafayette Square, a historic 1816 landmark, has been vandalized and set on fire, Fox News correspondent Kevin Corke reported from the scene.
MPD is currently responding to multiple fires intentionally set around the city, including at St. John’s Episcopal Church in the 1500 blk of H Street, NW, with @dcfireems . This church has been standing in our city since the early 1800s. Please avoid the area. https://t.co/8BeINZ5IYk
— DC Police Department #StayHomeDC Lite (@DCPoliceDept) June 1, 2020
The disturbing incident in Minneapolis, where a truck drove right into the crowd of protesters marching at a closed interstate road, has been filmed in every chilling detail by people at the scene.
The tanker semi drove along the westbound lanes of Interstate 35 at the moment when it was full of people protesting the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police. The road was closed for road traffic for the march.
One on-site video shows the moment the truck was stopped, with the cameraman yelling to people to get on the other side of the street and away from the potentially dangerous vehicle.
— Fuck the Curfew!! (@just_mattriley) May 31, 2020
Another one shows angry protesters pursuing the truck. “Get his f***ing ass out,” somebody is heard shouting as people block the windshield of the truck with their bodies and drag the driver out.
#BREAKING: ground video of tanker truck driving through massive crowd of protesters on I-35W in #Minneapolis.
The terrifying chase was filmed from another angle. It shows people throwing cycles in front of the vehicle in an apparent attempt to stop it. “Hey, you can not hurt him,” the person shooting the video shouts to other protesters as they get the driver out of the cabin.
Don't hurt him! It defeats our purpose
Breaking News: At a Minneapolis protest a man in the semi truck plowed thru the crowd.
The protesters got the guy out of the truck & jumped him.
Police maced the crowd & got the driver.
It is believed the driver is in police custody.#minneapolisriotspic.twitter.com/a95gCfp5Q2
The amount of anger seems palpable, but apparently the protesters managed to keep their rage mostly under control. According to the Minneapolis Department of Public Safety, the driver of the truck was injured in the altercation, but his life was not under threat.
From DPS Commissioner Harrington: From the footage we are seeing on @MnDOT cameras, it appears the semi was on I-35W as authorities were closing the road. It didn’t appear to drive through any barricades. Driver released from the hospital & under arrest. #MACCMN
A man in black clothes, who was breaking the curb stones next to a protest march in Washington, has been apprehended by the protesters and handed over to riot police, footage of the incident showed.
The moment of what can be called a citizen’s arrest of an agent provocateur was filmed during an anti-police brutality rally in the US capital.
🚨🚨🚨
Protestors in DC handed the white dude who was about to provocate the protest to the police.
The video, filmed by a correspondent of the Turkish news agency Anadolu, shows a man in a black hoodie and sunglasses smashing sidewalk curb with a hammer. The resulting stones would have made for handy projectiles to throw, but whether the man intended to use them as such remains unclear since several protesters pounced on him.
As people shout: “It’s white people, get the white people”, the man is quickly apprehended and dragged to police officers in riot gear standing nearby. His hood gets dropped, revealing him to be a grey haired white male.
The identity of the alleged provocateur was not immediately identified, though some commenters speculated he could have been an Antifa member. The radical left-wing movement was blamed by Donald Trump for a spree of violence accompanying nationwide protests against police brutality in the US. The President even threatened to designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization. Whoever the man was, the police arrested him, according to the video.
The death of George Floyd has opened the floodgates of anger and violence that can in part be explained by how traumatizing the video of his arrest was to millions of people who watched it, his aunt told RT.
Angela Harrelson said she does not condone the looting and rioting that happens as the US is gripped by protests against police brutality, which the death of her nephew has caused. But she can see why this particular incident in an all too long line of killings of black men by white cops in America sparked so much anger.
“The looting, the damage in property - we all know people should not be doing that. I understand the anger and the frustration; I understand the reason they are doing it,” she said.
The reason it takes so long for the people to [calm down] is because they saw this. It’s like they were there. They saw his murder in front of their eyes. You can’t wipe that away from people like that.
Floyd died after a Minnesota police officer pinned him to the ground putting his knee on the man’s neck. He and his fellow officers ignored Floyd as he was groaning and telling them he couldn’t breathe and was in a lot of pain. Harrelson said the sheer viciousness of what the footage of the incident conveys cannot not touch a person who has “a heart that beats and pumps blood.”
“There were people who told me they wanted to reach through the TV to save him,” she explained.
She is concerned that the four officers involved will not get the punishment she believes they deserve for the death of her nephew. The charges of 3rd degree murder pressed against Derek Chauvin, the individual who put his knee on Floyd’s neck, is “toying with the family” she said. As a registered nurse and a former military officer, she is certain the three other policemen had to realize what was going on.
“Justice for George Floyd for them all be convicted of murder,” she said.
Call it for the first time… call it for what it is. That’s murder!
Seeing now the strong and far-reaching reaction to Floyd’s killing and sharing the family tragedy with so many people around the world feels overwhelming, Harrelson said. “I feel it and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.”
Protests over George Floyd’s death have gone international, with hundreds of people taking to the streets of London and Berlin to decry the rampant police brutality in the US.
The chants of “No justice, no peace” rang out in the British capital on Sunday as protesters marched towards the US embassy in London. Some stopped at the Trafalgar Square and knelt, imitating the gesture of NFL star Colin Kaepernick.
"It is really powerful that people come out and not just sit down. It is not just a black issue, it is a human issue," a protester named Scott told RT’s Ruptly video agency.
The action in London was a lot less violent than in the US, however. The Metropolitan Police made five arrests, with two people detained for assaulting the officers, and three others – for violating the Covid-19 lockdown guidelines.
In the German capital, the crowd of protesters also gathered outside the US embassy. They held signs that read: “Justice for George Floyd,”“Let us breathe” and “Who’s neckst.”
“I promised that my future beautiful black babies will not die because I did not do enough, because I spent more time crying and complaining and posting than I did taking real action,” one of the Berlin speakers said through a megaphone.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old Houston native, died on May 25 during a police arrest in Minneapolis. Disturbing footage filmed by bystanders showed an officer jamming his knee on the black man’s neck while ignoring his pleas as well as those of the witnesses watching.
Ahead of the brutal arrest, Floyd allegedly tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store, and police said he resisted being handcuffed when detained. But for the millions of people who saw the video in the news and on social media, this hardly justified the police actions. Thousands took to streets across the US in cities like Minneapolis, New York, Atlanta, Portland, Chicago and many others.
But the protests quickly turned into riots – “hijacked” by provocateurs, as some have said – with destroyed property, torched police vehicles and large-scale looting persisting for several nights in a row. With curfews imposed in several cities but troops not deployed, President Donald Trump has so far refrained from invoking federal authority to send in the National Guard. At the same time, he has blamed the “Radical Left” and Antifa in particular for stirring up the riots, promising to designate the latter a terrorist group.
Protests over George Floyd’s death have gone international, with hundreds of people taking to the streets of London and Berlin to decry the rampant police brutality in the US.
The chants of “No justice, no peace” rang out in the British capital on Sunday as protesters marched towards the US embassy in London. Some stopped at the Trafalgar Square and knelt, imitating the gesture of NFL star Colin Kaepernick.
"It is really powerful that people come out and not just sit down. It is not just a black issue, it is a human issue," a protester named Scott told RT’s Ruptly video agency.
The action in London was a lot less violent than in the US, however. The Metropolitan Police made five arrests, with two people detained for assaulting the officers, and three others – for violating the Covid-19 lockdown guidelines.
In the German capital, the crowd of protesters also gathered outside the US embassy. They held signs that read: “Justice for George Floyd,”“Let us breathe” and “Who’s neckst.”
“I promised that my future beautiful black babies will not die because I did not do enough, because I spent more time crying and complaining and posting than I did taking real action,” one of the Berlin speakers said through a megaphone.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old Houston native, died on May 25 during a police arrest in Minneapolis. Disturbing footage filmed by bystanders showed an officer jamming his knee on the black man’s neck while ignoring his pleas as well as those of the witnesses watching.
Ahead of the brutal arrest, Floyd allegedly tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store, and police said he resisted being handcuffed when detained. But for the millions of people who saw the video in the news and on social media, this hardly justified the police actions. Thousands took to streets across the US in cities like Minneapolis, New York, Atlanta, Portland, Chicago and many others.
But the protests quickly turned into riots – “hijacked” by provocateurs, as some have said – with destroyed property, torched police vehicles and large-scale looting persisting for several nights in a row. With curfews imposed in several cities but troops not deployed, President Donald Trump has so far refrained from invoking federal authority to send in the National Guard. At the same time, he has blamed the “Radical Left” and Antifa in particular for stirring up the riots, promising to designate the latter a terrorist group.
A tanker truck driver plowed his vehicle into a massive crowd of anti-police brutality protesters on the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis, with hundreds of people miraculously scattering away at the very last second.
According to initial reports, nobody was seriously hurt in the shocking incident – except for the driver who was pulled out of the truck and beaten by the outraged crowd.
BREAKING: Tanker truck plows into crowd of demonstrators on Minneapolis highway. Protesters scrambled as truck battled toward them. pic.twitter.com/Q5cTF9AGB2
UPDATE: Truck driver under arrest and taken to hospital after driving towards protesters on closed interstate in Minneapolis, after which he was pulled from the vehicle pic.twitter.com/9KmMPcioc2
Breaking News: At a Minneapolis protest a man in the semi truck plowed thru the crowd.
The protesters got the guy out of the truck & jumped him.
Police maced the crowd & got the driver.
It is believed the driver is in police custody.#minneapolisriotspic.twitter.com/a95gCfp5Q2
The head of police in Richmond, Virginia choked up describing how rioters set a building on fire and wouldn’t let a fire truck get to the scene, forcing the officers to forcefully intervene to save a child trapped inside.
Peaceful protests in Richmond escalated into violence on Saturday, with radical mob setting ablaze a police cruiser, a bus and several buildings, including the United Daughters of the Confederacy headquarters. One of their targets was a building in Broad Street, in which there was a child, Richmond Police Chief Will Smith told journalists on Sunday.
Just a picture of the “peaceful” protest here in Richmond, VA. Courtesy of my living room window. Disgusting actions on the “protestors” part. pic.twitter.com/w3PsgXuVBY
“They prohibited us from getting on scene. We had to force our way to make a clear path for the fire department,” he said.
Protesters intercepted that fire apparatus several blocks away with vehicles and blocked fire department’s access [to the burning building]. Inside that building was a child!
At this point Smith seemed overwhelmed with emotion and had to take pause before he could continue. “When you take a legitimate issue and hijack it for unknown reasons, that is unacceptable to me, to [the police department], to the city of Richmond,” he said. “It truly is not Richmond. It’s not even Virginia. It’s not even the mid-Atlantic!”
Many of the protests in Richmond have splintered off, but ~1 a.m., responders are still putting out at GRTC bus on fire near the intersection of Broad and Monroe. Police sprayed pepper spray to get people off the street. #RichmondVApic.twitter.com/CJ5Ie2D6Dt
The police chief blamed the violence in the city on organized outsiders, who “had traveled many states to be here,” saying charges against instigators may be filed soon.
Richmond is among dozens of cities across the US rocked by rioting amid nationwide protests against police brutality. The wave of public outrage was unleashed by the choking death of black man George Floyd. He was killed while in custody of the Minneapolis, after a white officer kneeled on his neck and ignored his pleas to let him breathe.
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The US government has invited bids for several luxury mansions in the Hong Kong area, one of the world's most expensive real estate markets, as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing.
The residential complex located in a high-end neighborhood – Shouson Hill, south of Hong Kong Island – was reportedly "secretly" put up for sale earlier this week. The price tag for the lot is huge, but estimated values vary in the media. According to new local website HK01, six homes at 37 Shouson Hill Road with beautiful views of the bay are worth HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion). The outlet notes that the price per square meter in the luxury area can reach up to HK$200,000 (nearly US $26,000).
HK01 exclusively reported per source that the United States have started to secretly call for bids for six houses it owns since 1948 on Shouson Hill Rd. The houses in Southern District of HK are used as residence for CG staff. https://t.co/Iq7Or6AUMx
Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post says that the property is valued at between HK$3.1 billion and HK$5 billion (US$645 million), citing a tender document. Valuers also told the outlet that souring relations between the US and China, as well as the economic situation, may lower the price for the lot.
"Mainland Chinese used to be the buyers of luxury properties. Will they buy property from the US government now? That is a question in many people's mind," said Charles Chan Chiu-kwok, managing director of Savills Valuation and Professional Services Limited.
The US government has owned the land for 72 years after buying it for an unknown price. Back then, in 1948, Hong Kong was still a British colony.
A State Department representative told media that the sale was part of its global reinvestment program, that includes property reviews. The funds from the real estate deal can be reinvested in other areas.
"As part of that program, the State Department has decided to sell the Shouson Hill property, and at the same time, invest in enhancing other US government-owned assets in Hong Kong, including the US Consulate General's office building," a spokesman for the US consulate in Hong Kong said.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced that he wants to strip the Asian financial center of its trade and travel perks over Beijing's new security law. Hong Kong is already bracing for different scenarios as a result of the move, but Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po says it will have little impact as its services sector dominates the local economy.
Mike Pompeo has clashed online with Tehran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the latter weighed in on the anti-police-brutality riots across the US. Zarif even used the secretary of state’s own words on Iran.
“Some don’t think Black Lives Matter,” Zarif wrote, telling “those of us who do” that a war waged against racism is “long overdue for the entire world.” The top Iranian official was commenting on the mayhem sweeping through the US over the police killing of an African American, George Floyd.
It is “time for #WorldAgainstRacism,” Zarif’s statement proclaimed. It also featured a re-write of a previous statement by Secretary of State Pompeo, which lambasted Iran for allegedly “squandering its citizens' resources” and employing “futile tactics of suppression, imprisonment of protesters” along with “the denial of Iranian frustrations.”
Zarif replaced the words “Iran” and “Iranian” with “American,” “America” or “US” in the repurposed statement. He was apparently applying the comment in relation to what is happening now across the United States.
Zarif’s publication appeared on Pompeo’s radar hours later, but the response of the State Department chief was unusually brief. “You hang homosexuals, stone women and exterminate Jews,” he wrote, sharing the Iranian foreign minister’s tweet.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry is no stranger to sparring with the US secretary of state. Earlier in March, it uploaded an image that called for an end to “aiding war crimes” and “obeying immoral and illegal US sanctions.”
The picture featured the word “sanction” in the center, with the letter “O” stylized as coronavirus with a translucent Pompeo lurking behind it. The unorthodox message came after the US chief diplomat blamed Tehran for the severity of the outbreak in the country.
Mike Pompeo has clashed online with Tehran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the latter weighed in on the anti-police-brutality riots across the US. Zarif even used the secretary of state’s own words on Iran.
“Some don’t think Black Lives Matter,” Zarif wrote, telling “those of us who do” that a war waged against racism is “long overdue for the entire world.” The top Iranian official was commenting on the mayhem sweeping through the US over the police killing of an African American, George Floyd.
It is “time for #WorldAgainstRacism,” Zarif’s statement proclaimed. It also featured a re-write of a previous statement by Secretary of State Pompeo, which lambasted Iran for allegedly “squandering its citizens' resources” and employing “futile tactics of suppression, imprisonment of protesters” along with “the denial of Iranian frustrations.”
Zarif replaced the words “Iran” and “Iranian” with “American,” “America” or “US” in the repurposed statement. He was apparently applying the comment in relation to what is happening now across the United States.
Zarif’s publication appeared on Pompeo’s radar hours later, but the response of the State Department chief was unusually brief. “You hang homosexuals, stone women and exterminate Jews,” he wrote, sharing the Iranian foreign minister’s tweet.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry is no stranger to sparring with the US secretary of state. Earlier in March, it uploaded an image that called for an end to “aiding war crimes” and “obeying immoral and illegal US sanctions.”
The picture featured the word “sanction” in the center, with the letter “O” stylized as coronavirus with a translucent Pompeo lurking behind it. The unorthodox message came after the US chief diplomat blamed Tehran for the severity of the outbreak in the country.
A pair of cops were quickly overrun and wrestled to the ground by angry protesters during massive anti-police-brutality rallies in Chicago, with one female officer being violently dragged for several feet.
A widely shared video, captured in the middle of heavy demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, shows the infuriated crowd swarm and hit two police officers as they apparently tried to detain a protester.
A fracas suddenly broke out, with the cops being aggressively pushed to the ground by the demonstrators. The male officer managed to get to his feet while protecting himself against several protesters.
He then tried to rescue his female partner, who was dragged and tossed along the pavement.
The physical altercation ended when bystanders urged the attackers to stop, forming a kind of protective ring around the officers.
Looks like ANTIFA to me. First the cops. Then they'll come after you. It's not racial. It's a subterfuge. It's political. They're using you. CHAOS: Police officers dragged through the street in Chicago
Thousands of demonstrators flocked to the streets of Chicago on Saturday, climbing on cars and buses, and engaging in clashes with police. Later on, the violence escalated, with some rioters smashing the windows of police SUVS and damaging buildings across the city as they marched through.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a curfew for the city on Saturday evening, which will start at 9pm local time and continue until 6am “until further notice.” Local transportation companies suspended bus and train services on multiple lines as protests disrupted traffic across the city.
Hacker collective Anonymous has purportedly begun to target the Minneapolis Police Department, accusing the force of systemic violence and corruption while serving as an instrument for “the ruling class.”
A video message posted to an Anonymous Facebook page with 11 million followers accused the Minneapolis Police of condoning behavior that led to the death of George Floyd.
“People have had enough of this corruption and violence from an organization that promises to keep them safe,” the masked narrator says.
The group called for criminal charges to be brought against all of the officers who were filmed detaining Floyd before his death.
Unfortunately, we do not trust your corrupt organization to carry out justice, so we will be exposing your many crimes to the world.
The group claimed that the police force exists to “carry out the will of the criminal ruling class.”
Protests in Minneapolis against Floyd’s killing have spread across the United States, despite the fact that Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer filmed pinning his knee on Floyd’s neck, was arrested on Friday and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. However, other officers who witnessed the event have not been charged.
Police and National Guard have been sweeping residential streets in Minneapolis, ordering the residents to obey the curfew - and marking those who refuse to go inside with paint, triggering a new wave of outrage over police abuse.
A masked protester was spotted brandishing a rifle during the riots in Seattle, Washington State, where several patrol cars were burnt out and looted. The weapon was quickly recovered by another man.
A masked individual wearing a dark hoodie tried to take a rifle, apparently an AR-15, from a vandalized police car. Another man, believed to be an armed guard or an officer in plainclothes, professionally disarmed him, yelling: “Put the weapon down!”
Rioters have looted numerous stores, torched patrol cars and vandalized them with graffiti after the unrest broke out in Seattle following a peaceful anti-police brutality rally.
A man has drawn a bow and arrow during an confrontation with Black Lives Matter protesters in Salt Lake City, Utah. The authorities imposed a curfew and called in the National Guard after the rallies escalated into rioting.
The incident took place as the protesters blocking a road clashed with one of the drivers. At some point, the man pulled out a bow and arrow, and yelled “All lives matter!”
BREAKING: Video out of Salt Lake City shows a man readying to aim a bow & arrow at demonstrators as he yells “all lives matter” - demonstrators jumped him and then set his car on fire. Police responded. pic.twitter.com/ErGUuygkVs
The driver aimed the weapon several times, but was quickly swarmed by the protesters and beaten. After overpowering the man, the activists smashed the windows of his car and flipped it.
WOW: Man in Salt Lake City pulls bow and arrow on protesters blocking traffic and the protesters swarm him, disarm him, assault him then break and flip his vehicle.
— Michael James Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) May 31, 2020
The demonstrations in Salt Lake City and several other major cities across the US were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The rallies were initially peaceful but gradually spiraled into rioting, forcing authorities in multiple states to impose curfews and call in the National Guard.
Denver police have warned citizens that they will be arrested if they don’t abide by the curfew, introduced after Black Lives Matter protests escalated into clashes with reports of sporadic looting across the city.
The protest march began peacefully but escalated into violence on Saturday afternoon as some in the crowd started throwing fireworks and water bottles at police, local media reported.
The officers responded with flash bangs and tear gas, attempting to disperse the protesters in the Civic Central Park where the Colorado State Capitol is based.
Police said they have confiscated crowbars, chains, pliers, axes, and other tools typically used by looters to break into shops.
Unfortunately the actions of a few agitators are hijacking the memory and life of George Floyd. To use this tragedy to inflict harm on our community is inexcusable. These are a few items confiscated today that were intended to disrupt and cause damage to our city. pic.twitter.com/1SQ7tj1b6K
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) May 31, 2020
A curfew was imposed in Denver from 8pm to 5am, with police warning the citizens that they will be arrested if they fail to leave “all public areas.” Curfews have been earlier imposed in downtown Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, Utah, there the rioting also occurred.
The demonstrations in several other major cities across the US were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd, an unarmed black man, had died when a white police officer pinned him on the ground and pressed a knee on his neck in an attempted arrest.
The National Guard has been activated in Washington, DC to assist local police handling protests around the White House, where the stand off continues, sporadically erupting in clashes.
The guardsmen were mobilized after a request from the US Park Police, the DC National Guard (DCNG) commander, Major General William J. Walker said.
“The DCNG is always ready to assist District and Federal agencies to protect human life and property,” he noted.
The DC National Guard is on hand as protests continue tonight. I am told they were activated by the Secretary of the Army at the request of the US Park Police. pic.twitter.com/V5HoMPVQZI
The protesters have earlier pushed security barricades farther down Pennsylvania Avenue and climbed on the roofs of Secret Service vehicles outside the White House, demanding justice for George Floyd, an unarmed black man who had died in an arrest attempt by a white officer earlier this week.
Police officers lined up behind the barricades at Lafayette Park and used pepper spray while trying to contain the protesters.
A very small minority (like 5% of the people here) at the #dcprotest are throwing things at the police. I’ve seen firecrackers, water bottles, and bricks.
The Black Lives Matter demonstrations have spiraled into riots in multiple major cities across the US, forcing authorities to introduce curfews and request national guard support in several states.
The demonstrations, sparked by Floyd’s death, were staged in major cities across the US. Although initially peaceful, they escalated into rioting, looting, and clashes with police. The unrest had led the authorities to summon the National Guard in several states, while curfews were imposed in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Denver, among other places.
President Donald Trump previously blasted the demonstrators near the White House, saying that they had little to do with the memory of Floyd and only showed up to “cause trouble.”
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Protesters in Nashville, Tennessee broke into Metro Courthouse, setting fires inside, as peaceful anti-police brutality rallies are slipping into chaos and rioting all across the US.
Thousands of people marched peacefully through the city and gathered in the Public Square Park, chanting slogans against police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
— Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (@SergioMarBel) May 31, 2020
The violence eventually erupted after some of the protesters were seen burning the US flags and spray-painting anti-police slogans on the walls of the Metropolitan Nashville Courthouse - while several rioters managed to break in and set a fire inside.
Nashville police have gotten everyone back from Metro Courthouse using flash bangs and tear gas, which I can attest is highly effective pic.twitter.com/lnfGfyqUSW
Riot police deployed tear gas to push the crowd away from the building, but the vandalizm continued in the ares and elsewhere in the city.
Tear gas outside Nashville City Hall. It's burns a lot and it's hard to see and breathe. @WPLN's crew is OK. pic.twitter.com/AHKUppDthL
— Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (@SergioMarBel) May 31, 2020
They’re tearing down all the light poles outside Metro courthouse. It’s extremely dangerous. A second after this one behind me came crashing, missing me by a couple feet pic.twitter.com/PGV106v9Q0
Rioters have used large wheeled garbage containers to smash through the main gate of the CBS television complex during mass protest rallies and unrest in Los Angeles.
A video from the scene shows a large crowd of violent protesters ramming the fence with garbage containers and breaking it open. People were also throwing projectiles into the security guard booth.
A different clip shows security guards trying to close off the fence, while the rioters push another container into the gate and accidentally hit one of their own. It is not clear whether the protesters have made it past the entrance.
A large group of protestors have breached the main gates of CBS Television City in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard https://t.co/S4dDK6iwzM
— US Protest & Riot Updates (@ProtestRiot) May 30, 2020
The demonstrations were sparked by the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, during his attempted arrest by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this week.
The protest rallies in Los Angeles and several other major cities across the US began peacefully but later escalated into rioting, looting, and clashes with police, forcing authorities in several states to introduce curfews and call in the National Guard.
The vast majority of the people arrested so far amid the unrest in Minneapolis had Minnesota addresses, despite the US officials, including the state governor and President Donald Trump, painting the rioters as mostly outsiders.
Of the 45 people arrested for rioting and looting on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, 38 had Minnesota addresses, FOX 9 reported, citing publicly available jail records. Only six detainees were registered out of state, and one person did not have address information listed.
This data seems to contradict the US media and officials, who have spent the past couple of days blaming everyone from white supremacists and police provocateurs to antifa and leftist extremists (and Russia of course!), while largely ignoring any notion that impoverished Americans might have been genuinely fed up with social injustice and see no other ways to make their voices heard.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said earlier that 80 percent of rioters had come from “outside.” Walz also accused white supremacists and drug cartels of fueling the riots to take advantage of the chaos.
US President Donald Trump in his turn also claimed that the majority of the rioters in Minnesota were not locals, blaming antifa and the “radical left” for the unrest.
80% of the RIOTERS in Minneapolis last night were from OUT OF STATE. They are harming businesses (especially African American small businesses), homes, and the community of good, hardworking Minneapolis residents who want peace, equality, and to provide for their families.
The demonstrations and riots in Minneapolis and several other major cities across the US were caused by the death of Minneapolis local George Floyd. Floyd, an unarmed black man, had died after being pinned down on the ground by a white police officer, who pressed a knee on Floyd’s neck. The video of the incident went viral, sparking outrage over police brutality.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert has activated the National Guard to tackle the unrest in downtown Salt Lake City, where the mayor in her turn issued an 8pm curfew amid the widening anti-police brutality protests.
Herbert directed the National Guard to “help control the escalating situation” in Salt Lake City, while calling on the protesters to behave peacefully.
“We are in close contact with our department of public safety and receiving regular updates,” the governor said.
Herbert’s announcement came around the same time as Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall issued an 8pm curfew.
Due to civil unrest in downtown Salt Lake City, we ask that you please stay out of the metro area at this time if you're able. Thank you. https://t.co/X6gj9EJUuO
Dozens of patrols cars and several armored police vehicles were deployed arrived at the scene of the protests.
BREAKING: Armored police vehicles just arrived at the scene at 400 South and 200 East in downtown Salt Lake City, where a @slcpd car was overturned earlier this afternoon. #GeorgeFloydProtestpic.twitter.com/VwKMM5FrNI
— Jacob Klopfenstein (@JFKlopfenstein) May 30, 2020
Previously, a curfew was imposed in downtown Philadelphia and Los Angeles, after protests there escalated into riots with sporadic looting and vandalism. The National Guard has been deployed in Minneapolis for several days now, but has so far failed to quell the unrest as people rallying in the streets ignore the curfew orders.
Tensions have escalated in Florida, where crowds of Black Live Matter protesters descended on Miami streets denouncing police brutality and face off with cops in riot gear.
Riot police deployed tear gas and reportedly fired rubber bullets against an agitated crowd that converged on a police department garage in downtown Miami. While the majority of the protesters seemed peaceful, several people were seen throwing objects at the police protecting the building.
The protesters have gathered in downtown Miami on Saturday to stand in solidarity with George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while being detained by police in Minnesota. The incident sparked unrest across the country.
The people carried signs and chanted “I Can’t Breathe” – the words Floyd was filmed saying as he was pinned on the ground by a white police officer earlier this week in Minneapolis. The man after the officer pressed a knee onto his neck while attempting to detain him. Floyd’s deaths caused an outcry and triggered riots and unrest in several major US cities.
The pay row between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and promotion boss Dana White has exploded again after Jones reacted furiously to suggestions he wanted as much as $30 million to face heavyweight Francis Ngannou.
Jones hit out earlier this week after negotiations broke down almost immediately over plans for Jones to step up for a bout against heavyweight powerhouse Ngannou.
Longtime light-heavyweight king Jones accused UFC bosses of not offering him enough financial incentive to take the fight - a stance which was backed by Ngannou.
White initially responded to those claims by stating that Jones had asked for an "absurd" amount of money for the bout - and on Friday claimed that the fighter had wanted the same kind of remuneration as former world heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder for his recent rematch against Tyson Fury.
Most estimates put that sum at around $30 million, while White also said he had text messages from Jones detailing the kind of money the fighter had demanded.
But those comments elicited a furious outburst from Jones on social media on Friday night.
“If you’re going to stick to these lies, I’m going to stick to defending myself,” Jones tweeted.
“Please have your lawyer Hunter Campbell release those text messages.
“Don’t be a f*cking liar. My reputation has already taken enough hits. I don’t need this bullsh*t, Dana.
"I never asked for Diante [Deontay] Wilder’s numbers. And how about since Deontay is making $30 million, we settle for half of that. Since you said I’m the GOAT and everything.”
If you’re going to stick to these lies, I’m going to stick to defending myself. Please have your lawyer Hunter Campbell release those text messages.
Don’t be a fucking liar, my reputation has already taking enough hits. I don’t need this bullshit Dana. I never asked for Diante Wilder‘s numbers. And how about since Diante is making 30 million, we settle for half of that. Since you said I’m the goat and everything.
Jones went on to suggest that he should be released from his UFC contract if the promotion "undervalues" him - also citing the pay picked up by his younger brother Chandler Jones, who penned a five-year deal with NFL team the Arizona Cardinals in 2017 worth $82.5 million.
I don’t even make half of half of what Diante Wilder makes. If my reputation causes you to undervalue me this much. Just go ahead and release me from my @Ufc contract altogether. I’m sure some promoter somewhere will be more than happy to pick me up.
And if I wanted to compare money to someone else, I would compare money to my brothers. I see firsthand the way the NFL treats their champion athletes, there’s a huge difference. I’ve kept my mouth shut my entire career.
The 32-year-old Jones - whose only defeat in 28 professional MMA bouts has come through disqualification - later accepted that he earned upwards of $5 million for fights, but was adamant that a "superfight" against Cameroonian giant Ngannou warranted a significant premium on that amount.
Do I make 5+ per fight yes. Should I stick to that number for my super fights? No. If you don’t agree with me you just don’t know business. I certainly didn’t ask for 30, never even threw out a number.
Dana White has praised Jones as MMA's 'GOAT' in recent days, asserting that he could have reached even greater heights were it not for a litany of issues outside the cage including run-ins with the law and problems with alcohol, as well as doping suspensions.
That praise from White has clearly not placated Jones however as the row between the UFC and one of its biggest names grows increasingly ugly.
