The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled that George Floyd’s death was a homicide, caused by cardiac and respiratory arrest that occurred as the man was pinned to the ground by arresting officers.
On Monday, the medical examiner in Minnesota released a report on Floyd's death, which since last week has sparked protests across dozens of US cities, often spiraling into arson, looting and intense clashes with police. The report came out shortly after an independent autopsy commissioned by Floyd’s family concluded that his death under Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee was a result of asphyxia due to compression of the neck and back.
The Hennepin County medical examiner sided with the authors of the independent autopsy, Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, in ruling Floyd's death a homicide. The examiner’s report defined the cause of death as a “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”
Previously, in its preliminary findings, the examiner said that there was nothing in Floyd’s autopsy to support the diagnosis of “traumatic asphyxia and strangulation,” as suggested by Drs. Baden and Wilson. However, the examiner pointed out that the man had several underlying health issues that might have contributed to his death.
In the report, released on Monday evening, the examiner specified those preexisting conditions as “arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease,” as well as “fentanyl intoxication” and “recent methamphetamine use.”
Floyd’s killing rattled the nation, with a viral video showing him pleading with the officers to let him stand up while saying “I can’t breathe” triggering mass protests in over 75 cities. US President Donald Trump, who is struggling to quell the violence, said that he will consider deploying the military to states where local authorities fail to shut down rioting, urging the governors to deploy the National Guard to “dominate” the streets.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
Stacks of bricks left seemingly unattended in riot hotspots across the US - as if begging to be snatched and thrown by unruly mobs - have protesters and journalists wondering whether the violent street clashes are orchestrated.
It’s not every day one sees a stack of bricks just lying around unattended, especially when there’s no construction to be seen - but a rash of reports of pallets of bricks turning up as if by magic in over half a dozen cities over the weekend has investigators trying to get to the bottom of who’s seemingly giving would-be rioters the tools they need to turn what began as peaceful protests violent.
People are waking up! This young man says these bricks were conveniently stacked on the sidewalk for them to use! What’s going on here?! #SetUp#GeorgeFloydpic.twitter.com/pfdUoDIVsU
— Angela Stanton King 🇺🇸 (@theangiestanton) May 30, 2020
A group of protesters in Dallas called attention to the unexpected bounty of construction materials near the city’s courthouse on Saturday. “Ain’t no damn construction around here!” a savvy demonstrator says in the clip, while another urges his fellow protesters to “do better.”
PATIOS ARE THE VIRUS!
An explosion of patios being built as mysterious free piles of bricks appear nationwide on corners. This here is Dallas. pic.twitter.com/ABBCyHPLAy
Brick sightings soon mushroomed across the Dallas area, complete with humorous comments about a “patio virus” infecting the neighborhood. Commentators had plenty of theories, claiming the rioters’ Fairy Godmother was “white supremacists” or Antifa, but none delivered conclusive proof.
BREAKING: tonight’s Dallas riot was pre-planned
Organizers were directing the crowd where to go
They had pallets of 100 bricks ready for rioters
They were yelling to the crowd “go left, there are 100 bricks on the corner over there”
A Texas journalist called around to local government and found that the city of Dallas was claiming ownership of the bricks, thus triggering a whole new round of speculation - smoking gun, or official incompetence?
Update: City is picking up bricks and are property of the city.
The oddly-situated piles of construction materials have been cited by podcaster Tim Pool, conservative organizer Charlie Kirk, and others commenting on the rioting to support claims that outside interests are fueling the most destructive elements.
While the unrest began last Monday in Minneapolis, triggered by the death of a black security guard, George Floyd, who died after a white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck for seven minutes, protests and riots have since spread across the country, fueled by longstanding racial and class tensions as much as outrage over police brutality.
Another “researcher” has even claimed to have uncovered a connection between the bricks sprouting from sidewalks in Frisco, Texas and Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. The bricks were said to be delivered by a corporation called AcmeBrick, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, a massive holding company on whose board Gates sat until recently.
Brick Pallets in Frisco, TX for rioters/Antifa
Delivered by AcmeBrick, Ft Worth, TX.
Company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, (Gates recently left the board) and Marmon Group, Chicago.
Owned by?
Jay and Robert Pritzger and Berkshire Hathaway
But the Frisco Police Department declared the offending bricks were part of a “planned HOA construction project,” explaining they’d been removed “with permission” to be “returned at a later time.”
Update: City is picking up bricks and are property of the city.
And the Kansas City Police Department alerted citizens on Sunday to be on the lookout for rogue brick stashes, warning they were lurking all over the city to be “used during a riot.”
We have learned of & discovered stashes of bricks and rocks in & around the Plaza and Westport to be used during a riot. If you see anything like this, you can text 911 and let us know so we can remove them. This keeps everyone safe and allows your voice to continue to be heard.
New York City had its own mysterious brick eruptions in the East Village neighborhood on Saturday night, a vanishingly rare event in a city under constant construction in which unattended building materials tend to vanish in seconds.
"Yo, we got bricks. We got bricks!"—#Rioters in Manhattan chanced upon a cache in the street equipped with bricks and a shovel at 10:01 p.m. on Second Ave between St. Marks Pl. and Seventh St. pic.twitter.com/dYB7vHdYqL
Other images appeared to show police vehicles maneuvering the bricks into place.
Uh-oh...Those random ass bricks showing up, guess who's bringing them in to a place where there's no construction? pic.twitter.com/QAITwOLQOF
— A Black Socialist 🌹🏴☠️ (@SonOfAssata) June 1, 2020
The building this guy is standing next to is the Earl Cabell Federal Building in downtown Dallas. There are surveillance cameras all over the place and there is zero chance they can't see who dropped of the bricks and when. pic.twitter.com/38jjbgDLym
Certainly, the sudden appearance of heavy piles of masonry takes logistics most protesters are incapable of organizing on the fly. It would seem to be a simple matter for cities – especially in places like New York where every inch of space is watched over by surveillance cameras – to catch the brick bandits in the act. Of course, leaving piles of bricks around in case a riot happens to occur is hardly a crime…yet.
Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad has been “relieved of duty” just a month before his scheduled retirement after it was discovered the body cameras of officers involved in the shooting of black chef David McAtee were inactive.
Conrad had told reporters that McAtee was killed after police and National Guard troops called to disperse a crowd were fired upon, at around 12:15 am. Both police and the soldiers returned fire, fatally striking the barbecue restaurant owner.
When Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) demanded the release of body camera footage so that the public could “decide for themselves” who was to blame, the officers' cameras were found to had been turned off. Conrad was relieved of his duties, just a month before his planned retirement.
The Louisville Metro PD chief announced last week his plans to step down effective July 1, citing “tough times” within the department. The statement is widely believed to be a reference to the police killing of Louisville EMT Breonna Taylor in her home, during a no-knock raid to serve a drug warrant on her partner.
The FBI recently began an investigation into Taylor’s March 13 killing, and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer belatedly suspended the use of the controversial search warrants that contributed to the woman’s untimely death. After Sunday’s shooting, Beshear has authorized state police to investigate McAtee's death as well.
The Louisville protesters have taken up the cause of justice for Taylor in addition to George Floyd, the Minneapolis man killed after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes last week.
By all accounts, McAtee was a good friend of the police, serving them free meals from his barbecue restaurant. The officers who shot McAtee have not been named. Several “persons of interest” were interviewed in relation to the incident, Conrad had said.
The Louisville protests have been especially violent, with seven people wounded by gunfire in a single day last week. Police insist that most of the violence was of the protester-on-protester variety.
US President Donald Trump made an on-foot visit to the vandalized St. John’s church in the nation’s capital, leaving the White House surrounded by a crowd of Secret Service agents as unrest over police brutality grips the city.
After a brief statement from the White House on Monday evening calling again for an end to the protests and rioting that’s erupted across dozens of American cities, Trump took a stroll to the St. John’s Church near the White House for a surprise photo-op.
President Trump headed to St John’s Church, walking out in the open with secret service and staff close by. pic.twitter.com/CupYCXAo19
“We have the greatest country in the world. Going to keep it nice and safe,” the president said while posing in front of the church, which on Sunday night was vandalized and damaged by fire amid turmoil sparked by the police killing of a Minneapolis man last week.
Trump heading to St John’s church. Asked about clearing out a park for a photo op. pic.twitter.com/4icg7olFPf
I almost can’t believe what I’m seeing. POTUS just walked out the front door of the White House and into Lafayette Square - the epicenter of the DC protests - to visit historic St. John’s Church, which was set on fire last night. pic.twitter.com/XueoF2RC6z
Moments before the photo-op, as the president prepared to address the nation, clashes erupted between protesters and riot police on the streets of DC, seeing armor-clad officers firing tear gas and other crowd control munitions into a group of demonstrators, who are now violating the city’s 7pm curfew order.
This is what happened on the other side of the White House only 5 minutes before President Trump began remarks in the Rose Garden. pic.twitter.com/n3UNLTBAKn
Some 1,700 National Guard troops have been deployed to the city as the unrest rages on, with reports that additional active-duty soldiers and military police could be sent into the capital. In his White House statement, the president vowed to dispatch “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers” and police if the rioting didn’t end – not only to the capital but any of the dozens of cities where similar turmoil has broken out.
After a few minutes outside the church, Trump returned to the White House, flanked by a massive crowd of police and troops, who cleared out nearby Lafayette Park so he could reach the church unimpeded.
Pres returns to the White House from St. John's, walking through a phalanx of troops and police that cleared Lafayette Park of protestors so he could walk to the church. pic.twitter.com/J1eykTcjGt
People are out on the streets because they feel unheard and sidelined by those running the country, Blues musician Toronzo Cannon told RT, as nationwide protests rage after George Floyd's death at the hands of police.
"The people just had enough, they feel that no one cares," Cannon, an electric blues guitarist, and songwriter, insisted.
He said rioters come from depressed neighborhoods, "they're economically deprived," which implies that protest is "the only way to lash out at the system."
It's like you're going to keep me low… basically, the system is putting their knee on our necks.
Protests and marches against police brutality quickly evolved into violent riots and acts of looting this week, leaving retail and luxury stores robbed and vandalized all across the US.
Cannon, a Chicago native, said that while he doesn't condone "breaking in the stores that has nothing to do with the death of Mr Floyd," he understands the roots of street anger.
I understand [why] they just can't control [themselves] anymore. They put their lives at risk and danger of being shot or being hurt.
Asked if he feels that the protest is being hijacked, he noted there's "a lot of opportunists" out there whose activity is "taking [us] away from the actual meaning of police brutality."
As riots escalated, President Donald Trump promised a heavy-handed response, warning "liberal governors and mayors" to bring the situation under control or face "the unlimited power" of US military deployed to quell the unrest.
To Cannon, Trump is "inflaming the situation." Instead of calling on Americans to unite, he appears to employ quite the opposite tactic, the musician argued.
Him and his administration seem to be enjoying the division between Democrats and Republicans, and making it a political issue when it should be just an American issue.
Cannon was speaking on the heels of news that the Minneapolis officer who kept Floyd in a choke hold for several minutes, Derek Chauvin, faced murder and manslaughter charges and was brought into custody.
However, indicting Chauvin alone wasn't enough as three other officers present on the scene stood back and "let him do it," Cannon said, explaining that the African American community isn't anti-police by default.
"The black community, the minority community, we appreciate the police and what they do and we know their job is hard." But if they break the law, they must be held to the same standards as regular citizens, he concluded.
Haters of US President Donald Trump had a field day after media allegations that he was whisked away to an underground bunker as hundreds of protesters gathered on Friday in front of the White House.
Trump was moved to the secure location by the Secret Service, according to reports by the New York Times and Associated Press. According to AP, the president spent about an hour in the facility, which is designed to be used in case of a physical threat to senior executive officials.
Both reports make it clear that the decision to move Trump into the bunker was taken by the Secret Service. The image of the man hiding from the people’s wrath like some despot on the verge of being toppled was too appealing for his many detractors to miss.
The #Resistance side of Twitter had a field day snickering about how the president was hiding underground from a bunch of 20-year-olds.
Tweeting hate from a secure underground bunker beneath The White House and surrounded by the Secret Service.
Following the allegations in the media, the hashtag #BunkerBoy started trending on Twitter, adding more fuel to the fire in relations between the sitting US president and the public.
The tanker ‘Clavel,’ the last of a five-tanker Iranian flotilla, has made it to Venezuela’s shores to deliver much-needed gasoline. The final delivery comes just three days after the previous cargo arrived.
The fifth oil tanker entered the nation’s waters on Sunday, carrying the last shipment of the more than 1.5 million barrels of fuel sent to Venezuela by Iran. Both nations are facing tough US sanctions, with Washington willing to stop the Iranian lifeline that was meant to alleviate fuel shortages in the South American country.
Earlier this week, Venezuela’s military escorted four other ships – the ‘Fortune,’ the ‘Forest,’ the ‘Faxon’ and the ‘Petunia’ – through its exclusive economic zone to their destination. The ‘Faxon’ was the last to arrive at Puerto la Cruz on the country’s eastern coast on Friday.
Meanwhile, one of the vessels, the ‘Forest,’ has apparently unloaded fuel. According to Marine Traffic data, the vessel left the port it had docked at and was en route to an unknown location as of Sunday afternoon.
Washington had earlier warned against helping the Iranian fleet to get to Venezuela. The US Special Representative to the country, Elliott Abrams, told Reuters that the United States government’s pressure campaign against Tehran and Caracas was aimed at ensuring that “everyone recognizes this would be a very dangerous transaction to assist.”
While the White House did not explicitly say it intends to intercept the tankers, the Iranian envoy to the US previously said the vessels may face “the threat of imminent use of military force by the United States.” Tehran has warned against any interference with the ships, warning that would amount to “piracy and a major peril to international peace and security.”
Despite Venezuela having vast oil reserves, its refining capacity has been limited, and its energy crisis has only worsened amid sweeping US sanctions. The restrictions dealt a painful blow to the republic’s oil sector, which accounts for most of its budget revenues.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his family members have contracted Covid-19, he said on Monday. “I have passed a test for the coronavirus. Unfortunately… I have a coronavirus infection,” the PM said during an online broadcast on his Facebook page.
“My family members were also tested and unfortunately they also have the infection. We don’t have any symptoms, the temperature is normal,” Pashinyan said. The family are now self-isolating, and the PM will be working from home.
Pashinyan suspects that he contracted Covid-19 during a working meeting. “Since I observed all safety rules I hope that I have not infected other members of the government,” he said. “All of us have to comply with epidemiological rules of safety.”
In Armenia, 9,282 people have contracted the virus, and the total number of recoveries has reached 3,386. A total of 131 citizens have died since the start of the pandemic, TASS said. On May 29, the PM said that Armenia had overtaken Iran and France in terms of the number of cases per one million people, and was approaching the Italian scenario.
After being repeatedly broadsided by Washington’s incendiary regime-change rhetoric, Tehran is now returning the favor. Iran’s Foreign Ministry seems to be urging Americans to “rise up” against their government.
The ministry tweeted out a photograph of a black demonstrator, fist in the air, standing defiantly in front of a group of riot police. The image is accompanied by a quote from civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up & live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’” the text reads.
— Iran Foreign Ministry 🇮🇷 (@IRIMFA_EN) June 1, 2020
This isn’t the first time that Iran has ribbed the Trump administration over ongoing protests across the US.
As nationwide anger grew over the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called out the US for its human rights record, artfully editing a State Department press release about alleged injustices in Iran to make his point.
Mike Pompeo responded to the criticism by accusing Tehran of “exterminating Jews” and other alleged crimes. Washington has repeatedly called for a revolt against Tehran, claiming that they stand with the Iranian people – even as the US imposes crippling sanctions on their country.
As New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio calls for peace to return to his city’s streets, it appears that his own daughter might be part of the problem. She was arrested for protesting in Manhattan, according to reports.
Chiara de Blasio, 25, was taken into custody on Saturday night after the NYPD declared an unlawful assembly at 12th Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, police sources told the New York Post.
She was reportedly cuffed for blocking traffic and refusing to disperse.
A law enforcement source told the Post that the area was a “hotspot” where police cars were torched and scuffles broke out between demonstrators and cops.
While being booked, Chiara didn’t disclose that she was the mayor’s daughter, but she did give her address as the mayor’s residence on the Upper East Side.
It’s believed that she was arrested about an hour before de Blasio gave a press conference at which he expressed appreciation for peaceful protests, but stated that it was “time for people to go home.”
She was issued a desk appearance ticket – an order to appear in court for arraignment – and released. City Hall declined to comment when contacted by the Post, and the mayor has not yet commented on the report.
New York City has seen several days of protests, with some marches descending into violence and looting. Peaceful rallies as well as major riots continue to plague the US following the death of a black man, George Floyd, while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Numerous states and cities have deployed the National Guard in response to the mayhem.
After being repeatedly broadsided by Washington’s incendiary regime-change rhetoric, Tehran is now returning the favor. Iran’s Foreign Ministry seems to be urging Americans to “rise up” against their government.
The ministry tweeted out a photograph of a black demonstrator, fist in the air, standing defiantly in front of a group of riot police. The image is accompanied by a quote from civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up & live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’” the text reads.
— Iran Foreign Ministry 🇮🇷 (@IRIMFA_EN) June 1, 2020
This isn’t the first time that Iran has ribbed the Trump administration over ongoing protests across the US.
As nationwide anger grew over the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called out the US for its human rights record, artfully editing a State Department press release about alleged injustices in Iran to make his point.
Mike Pompeo responded to the criticism by accusing Tehran of “exterminating Jews” and other alleged crimes. Washington has repeatedly called for a revolt against Tehran, claiming that they stand with the Iranian people – even as the US imposes crippling sanctions on their country.
