An active duty military police battalion is deploying to Washington, DC, as more protests against police killings of black people kick off in the Capitol, Philadelphia, New York and other cities on Monday evening, just hours after violent riots broke out across the country.
Between 200 and 250 military personnel from a unit at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are on their way to DC and could arrive as soon as tonight, three Pentagon officials told CNN.
The deployment marks the first time that the Army has been sent in to patrol US streets in nearly 30 years since the 1992 Los Angeles riots sparked by the brutal police custody death of Rodney King.
The troops are expected to provide security in the capital but will not perform law enforcement duties such as arrest and detention of protesters or rioters, per CNN.
Hundreds of people gathered for a peaceful demonstration near the White House on Monday afternoon, after last night’s protests were broken up by police tear gas.
Meanwhile, police and protesters in Philadelphia clashed on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway as officers launched tear gas and sprayed chemicals into the crowds, causing them to scatter.
And in New York City, large crowds convened in Times Square, with many protesters lying on the ground or kneeling with their arms behind their backs in a powerful message to law enforcement.
The US has been rocked by six straight nights of tumult since George Floyd, a black man, was killed in Minneapolis after a white police officer pinned him to the ground by kneeling on his neck last Monday.
Floyd, who was in handcuffs at the time, died after the white officer ignored bystander shouts to get off him and Floyd’s cries that he couldn’t breathe.
His death, captured on citizen video, has sparked days of protests in Minneapolis that quickly spread to cities across America.
An active duty military police battalion is deploying to Washington, DC, as more protests against police killings of black people kick off in the Capitol on Monday. Hundreds of protesters are seen gathered near the White House
NEW YORK: In New York City’s Times Square, dozens of protesters lied on the ground on Monday with their arms behind their backs. George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis after a white police officer pinned him to the ground by kneeling on his neck last Monday
NEW YORK: Crowds of protesters gathered in New York City’s Times Square on Monday to protest George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS: In Minneapolis, Floyd’s brother, Terrence, (above)made an emotional plea for peace at the site of where Floyd was pinned to pavement by an officer who put his knee on the handcuffed black’s man neck for several minutes
The latest demonstration in the heart of Manhattan, which saw hundreds of protesters holding signs that read: ‘I can’t breathe,’ came as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an 11pm to 5am curfew for New York City in a bid to curb the violence of the past few nights.
Meanwhile, protesters in Washington DC marched along streets just down from the White House on Monday.
Protests were also taking place in Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, and in Philadelphia.
While many of the demonstrations around the country have been peaceful protests by racially diverse crowds, others have descended into violence – despite curfews in many cities across the US and the deployment of thousands of National Guard members over the past week.
George Floyd’s brother pleaded for peace in the streets Monday, saying violence is ‘not going to bring my brother back at all’.
In Minneapolis, Floyd’s brother, Terrence, made an emotional plea for peace at the site of where Floyd was pinned to pavement by an officer who put his knee on the handcuffed black’s man neck for several minutes.
‘Let’s switch it up ya´ll. Let’s switch it up. Do this peacefully, please,’ Terrence Floyd said.
The crowd chanted ‘What’s his name? George Floyd!’ and ‘One down, three to go!’ in reference to the four officers involved in Floyd’s arrest.
NEW YORK: NYPD officers watched on Monday as protesters gathered in Times Square to demonstrate against police killings of black people
NEW YORK: The protesters in New York City laid on the ground, many with their arms behind their backs, on Monday
NEW YORK: Hundreds more protesters watched on brandishing signs that read: ‘I can’t breathe’ during the Times Square protest
NEW YORK: Protesters rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd in Times Square on Monday
Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with murder, but protesters are demanding that his colleagues be prosecuted too. All four were fired.
The gathering was part rally and part impromptu eulogy as Floyd urged people to stop the violence and use their power at the ballot box.
‘If I’m not over here messing up my community, then what are you all doing?’ he said. ‘You all are doing nothing. Because that´s not going to bring my brother back at all.’
The country has been beset by angry demonstrations for the past week in some of the most widespread racial unrest in the U.S. since the 1960s.
Spurred in part by Floyd’s death, protesters have taken to the streets to decry the killings of black people by police.
While police in some places tried to calm tensions by kneeling or marching in solidarity, officers elsewhere were accused of treating protesters with the same kind of heavy-handed tactics that contributed to the unrest in the first place.
Around the country, political leaders girded for the possibility of more of what unfolded over the weekend: protesters hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at police in Philadelphia, setting a fire near the White House and smashing their way into Los Angeles stores, running off with as much as they could carry.
At least 4,400 people have been arrested for offenses such as stealing, blocking highways and breaking curfew
WASHINGTON DC: Crowds gathered in Washington DC on Monday down the street from the White House. Overnight, police and rioters clashed outside the White House
WASHINGTON DC: Protesters calling for freedom and carrying signs saying ‘I can’t breath’ gathered in Washington DC on Monday
WASHINGTON DC: The crowds walked through the streets of Washington DC on Monday near Lafayette Square close to the White House
WASHINGTON DC: Protesters hold anti-Trump placards while marching on H Street near Lafayette Square in Washington, DC on Monday
PHILADELPHIA: Protesters rally in front of Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers in Philadelphia on Monday
PHILADELPHIA: Protesters march in the aftermath of widespread unrest following the death of George Floyd on Monday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
President Donald Trump has berated most of the nation’s governors as ‘weak’ for not cracking down harder on the lawlessness that has convulsed cities from coast to coast.
He told the nation’s governors in a video conference that they they ‘look like fools’ for not deploying even more National Guard members.
‘Most of you are weak,’ he said.
‘You’ve got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you´ll never see this stuff again.’
Former President Barack Obama on Monday condemned the use of violence at nationwide protests over racial inequities and excessive police force while praising the actions of peaceful protesters seeking reform.
The vast majority of protesters have been peaceful, but a ‘small minority’ were putting people at risk and harming the very communities the protests are intended to help, Obama wrote in an online essay posted on Medium.
Obama said the violence was ‘compounding the destruction of neighborhoods that are often already short on services and investment and detracting from the larger cause.’
Obama’s latest remarks came three days after his first comments on the Floyd case, which called for justice but did not mention the violent nature of some protests.
His shift in tone on Monday came as some protesters have set fires, smashed windows and looted stores, forcing mayors in large cities to impose nighttime curfews.
INDIANAPOLIS: Protesters march in the streets of downtown Indianapolis on Monday
INDIANAPOLIS: A women addresses the crowd as protesters take a knee at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on Monday
LOS ANGELES: Protesters chant and raise their fists while on a street corner in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on Monday
LOS ANGELES: A motorist offers support to protesters on a street corner in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on Monday
Timeline: George Floyd’s death at the hands to Minneapolis police sparks nationwide protests
George Floyd (pictured) said ‘I can’t breathe’ when Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for eight minutes
Monday, May 25
Cell phone video shows George Floyd, handcuffed and pinned to the ground, with one police officer – Derek Chauvin – kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Floyd was unresponsive.
Floyd, 46, is heard pleading: ‘I can’t breathe’, as he is arrested by four cops for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. He later died.
Tuesday, May 26
Four Minneapolis officers involved in the incident, including Chauvin and Tou Thao, are fired. Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey says it is ‘the right call’.
As calls mount for the cops to face murder charges, the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension launch an investigation.
That night, the first of several protests over Floyd’s death take place in Minneapolis, with protesters shouting: ‘I can’t breathe!’
These words echo Floyd’s plea to officers but the phrase also became a rallying cry in 2014 after the death of Eric Garner, another black man who was killed in police custody during an arrest for the illegal sale of cigarettes.
Wednesday, May 27
Protests continue into a second night in Minneapolis and spread nationwide to Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee.
As anger mounts, the protests become violent with one person in Minneapolis shot dead, stores are looted and buildings are set on fire.
Police in riot gear fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the thousands of protesters demanding justice for Floyd.
Mayor Frey called for the officer’s to be charged and said ‘I want to see justice for George Floyd.’
It is revealed Chauvin been subject to at least 12 conduct reports since 2001.
Thursday, May 28
A third night of protests with demonstrations in Minneapolis, Memphis, Louisville, Phoenix, New York City and Columbus, Ohio.
Protesters burn down the Third Precinct building while 500 National Guards are dispatched to the riots in Minneapolis.
At least 70 New Yorkers are arrested after clashing with the NYPD.
Protesters in Ohio breached the city’s courthouse and shots were fired at the Colorado State Capitol.
Friday, May 29
Trump warned on Twitter that ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts’
President Trump blasts ‘radial left Mayor’ Frey and warned ‘thugs’ that ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts’ on Twitter.
The phrase comes from former Miami Police Chief Walter Headley in 1967 when referring to ‘slum hoodlums’ who he believed took advantage of the Civil Rights Movement.
Derek Chauvin, 44, was arrested Friday on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, which has sparked violent protests
Twitter flags Trump’s tweet for violating its rules about glorifying violence. It comes mere days after the president was fact-checked, sparking a row with the social media giant.
Black CNN Reporter Omar Jimenez is arrested on live TV while reporting on the riots in Minneapolis
Officer Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter over Floyd’s death.
Mayor Frey declares a nighttime curfew in Minneapolis that begins Friday at 8pm and extends until 6am Saturday
President Trump is reportedly rushed to the White House’s underground bunker and Secret Service and George Floyd protestors clash
Saturday, May 30
At least 25 cities impose emergency curfews as protests and demonstrations continue into the weekend.
11 states and the District of Columbia activate the National Guard as tensions flare.
The National Guard is deployed to Los Angeles amid protests – the first time in nearly 20 years since the 1992 Los Angeles Riots
The National Guard is activated at the White House as Secret Service agents struggle control demonstrators in Washington D.C.
Sunday, May 31
At least five people are killed during protests in Indianapolis, Chicago, Oakland, Detroit and Oakland as around 140 cities hold a sixth night of protests.
Federal Protective Services Officer Patrick Underwood is shot dead outside a federal courthouse during late night demonstrations.
The historic St. John’s church, built in 1816, is set ablaze near the White House in Washington D.C. as more than 50 Secret Service agents are injured.
At least 40 cities impose emergency curfews in light of riots, violence and looting.
President Trump urges states ‘get tough’ by calling the National Guard to oversee protests and demands ‘Law and Order!’
Trump announces on Twitter that he will designate Antifa, a loose but radical far-left group, as a terrorist organization after blaming them for protest violence.
The daughter of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chiara de Blasio, 25, is arrested during a George Floyd protest in Manhattan.
More than 250 people are arrested in New York City as six NYPD officers are injured and looters target luxury stores in SoHo
George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests have spread internationally, with demonstrations in London and Berlin.
Derek Chauvin is moved to one of the US’s most secure prisons ahead of his first court appearance on June 8.