June 1 George Floyd protest news

By Jessie Yeung, Steve George, Nick Thompson, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes and Daniella Diaz, CNN

Updated 2:10 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020
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9:11 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Beverly Hills and Santa Monica curfews will start today

From CNN's Stella Chan

Police watch as tear gas is deployed during demonstrations in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death on May 31, in Santa Monica, California.
Police watch as tear gas is deployed during demonstrations in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death on May 31, in Santa Monica, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Curfews in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica will start at 1 p.m. PDT Monday for business districts and 4 p.m. PDT citywide following a weekend of protests and looting.

“This has been a difficult weekend in our City. Thousands of protesters marched through our streets to call attention to the devastating circumstances surrounding the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd. Sadly, there were multiple incidents of vandalism. Several stores, buildings and public art pieces were damaged. This will not be tolerated in our City. It’s unfortunate that the message of the peaceful protesters has been diminished by criminal behavior,” Beverly Hills Mayor Les Friedman said in a statement.

Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown also expressed his disappointment in a news release, saying “On Sunday, Santa Monica honored and respected, and ultimately protected, a peaceful protest against institutional racism. Yet our solidarity with those honoring George Floyd was betrayed, as was his memory, by opportunistic and organized criminals."

"Taking advantage of the protest as a diversion, they stole not only goods, but jobs, and challenged the resilience of our business community, which is poised for recovery from the ongoing pandemic. Sunday was one of the most distressing days in Santa Monica history," he continued.

9:11 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

White House is reaching out to black leaders for a possible listening session

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

As President Trump and his advisers continue to weigh how best to respond to ongoing nationwide unrest, White House officials have begun reaching out to some black leaders ahead of a possible “listening session” later this week, people familiar with the matter told CNN.  

Trump’s schedule today lists him hosting a conference call with governors, law enforcement and national security leaders — an indication he is focused for now on law-and-order issues during nationwide violence, not necessarily the underlying issues of racism and police brutality that initially sparked protests. His tweets and retweets have also centered on going after Antifa and quelling violence, sometimes using a militaristic tone. 

But some inside the White House also believe Trump should hear from members of the black community to better understand the issues and to help generate ideas for how to move forward.

Remember: It’s not clear when or if such a listening session will materialize but some aides believe it will be necessary — along with his other efforts to hear from law enforcement and governors — before delivering any kind of national address. 

8:18 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

DC mayor says demonstrators brought tools and supplies with them

From CNN's Carma Hassan

A protester throws a US flag into a burning barricade during a demonstration against the death of George Floyd near the White House on May 31, in Washington.
A protester throws a US flag into a burning barricade during a demonstration against the death of George Floyd near the White House on May 31, in Washington. Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said protesters in the city brought "tools and supplies" with them last night.

“Well, we know that we have people that came here with tools and supplies, and they re-upped their supplies. They went to different parts of the city, so we think there was a mix of people here but certainly people here who do this type of protest demonstration,” Bowser said will speaking on NBC this morning.

NBC's Craig Melvin asked her if they were "professional protesters and demonstrators."

“Well, we’ve seen some of these tactics before, so we know that they were among the groups here,” she said, describing the tactics as “the types of tools they used, restocking, setting fires here and there to draw in the police to various locations.”

8:01 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

It's 7 a.m. in Minneapolis. Here's what you need to know after another night of nationwide protests

The US is waking up after another long and violent night of protests over the death of George Floyd, despite curfews being enacted in cities around the country.

If you're just joining us, here are the biggest updates from overnight:

  • Late night unrest in major cities: Protests in Washington, DC, New York City, and Philadelphia all saw clashes between protesters and police, continuing even after a curfew went into effect in DC and Philadelphia. There were large fires set, tear gas fired, buildings vandalized, and dozens arrested.
  • Several people have been killed: Two people are dead in Davenport, Iowa, and a man in Louisville, Kentucky was killed as officers fired at crowds as they cleared a parking lot.
  • National Guard deployed: On Sunday morning, National Guard members had been activated in 15 states and Washington, DC. As the evening protests escalated, more states activated the Guard, including Tennessee, Washington, Massachusetts, and more.
  • Nationwide curfews broken: More than 40 cities imposed curfews in response to the ongoing protests, but many of those curfew were broken overnight.
  • Floyd family speak to police: Floyd's family spoke to Minneapolis police directly for the first time live on CNN. Floyd's brother asked whether the other officers involved would be arrested; Police Chief Medaria Arradondo replied, "Being silent or not intervening to me, you're being complicit ... Mr. Floyd died in our hands."
  • Minnesota truck driver charged: A man who drove a tanker truck into a crowd of protesters in Minnesota interstate Sunday night was charged with assault.
  • Derek Chauvin in court: The former officer who was filmed with his knee on Floyd's neck will appear in court on June 8, court records show. He has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

See CNN's photo gallery of the nationwide protests:

7:50 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Two dead and a police officer injured after shootings in Iowa

From CNN's Jamiel Lynch

Two people are dead and a police officer is injured after a series of shootings overnight in Davenport, Iowa.

Police officers in Davenport, Iowa were ambushed by rioters overnight, authorities said in an early morning news conference. 

Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski said three officers were patrolling the city when they were ambushed and several rounds were shot at them. Sikorski said the officer’s vehicles were hit, and one officer was injured. Sikorski did not know the officer’s condition but said he was in “good spirits” this morning. Police have arrested several people in a car that fled that scene, he said.

Sikorski said police responded to dozens of incidents in the city involving rioters where shots were fired. He said that a total of four people were shot and two people had died.

Davenport Mayor Mike Mateson said he will be enacting a curfew in the city tonight and will be asking Governor Kim Reynolds to activate the National Guard.

9:11 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Trump holes up at White House as protests tear through US

From CNN's Stephen Collinson, Kaitlan Collins and Noah Gray

Protesters rally at the White House on Sunday.
Protesters rally at the White House on Sunday. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

America is still waiting for an address from President Donald Trump about the protests tearing through its streets following the death of George Floyd.

After being briefly moved to an underground bunker during Friday night's protests outside the White House, Trump spent Sunday night again sheltered as violence raged nearby amid protests from Minneapolis to Miami and Portland to Philadelphia. 

In normal circumstances, a president could be expected to call for calm and perhaps deliver an Oval Office address

But Trump's instinct has been to exacerbate the sense of crisis and division -- blasting the demonstrators as "THUGS" and calling for crackdowns, CNN's Stephen Collinson writes.

Trump on Thursday fueled the incendiary tone around Floyd's death when he invoked racist language from the 1960s by tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

He spent Friday attempting to strike a more measured tone and denying he was evoking a phrase with ties to brutal civil rights-era police tactics. At a roundtable with retail and restaurant executives, Trump disclosed that he'd spoken with the family of Floyd and said he wanted "to express our nation's deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathies."

But on Saturday, hours after the protests outside the White House had ended, Trump commended the US Secret Service for protecting him inside his fortified mansion, saying he couldn't have felt "more safe" as protesters gathered outside over Floyd's death. The President tweeted that if protesters breached the White House's fence, they would "have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen."

On Sunday, he lashed out at Democrats and their party's presumptive nominee Joe Biden as he sought to revive his 2016 claim to be the "law and order" candidate -- a characterization that could help him distract from his mishandling of the pandemic.

"Get tough Democrat Mayors and Governors. These people are ANARCHISTS. Call in our National Guard NOW. The World is watching and laughing at you and Sleepy Joe. Is that what America wants? NO!!!"

Now, a serious divide has emerged among the President's top allies and advisers over how he should address several nights of protests and riots.

Trump is being urged by some advisers to formally address the nation and call for calm, while others have said he should condemn the rioting and looting more forcefully or risk losing middle-of-the-road voters in November, according to several sources familiar with the deliberations.

Read more:

9:11 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Two Atlanta officers fired after video shows them tasing man and using "excessive force" on woman

By CNN's Amir Vera in Atlanta

Two Atlanta Police Department officers were fired Sunday after video showed them using "excessive force" against two college students during Saturday night's protests, Atlanta's mayor announced.

Officers were filmed in downtown Atlanta breaking the windows of the vehicle the two people were in, yanking a woman out of the car and tasing the man. Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said she recognized the two as Spelman College and Morehouse College students. Both schools are historically black colleges in Atlanta.

"It was the worst experience of my life," said the woman, identified as Taniyah Pilgrim, 20. She said she and her friend Messiah Young, the man in the video, were riding home from protests when the incident took place.

Watch video of the incident here:

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she was disturbed when she saw the video and ordered charges to be dropped against the man. The woman was not charged.

"As we watch the video today, it became abundantly clear immediately with the young woman that this force was excessive," Bottoms said. "It also became abundantly clear that the officer who tased the young man needed to be terminated as well."

One of the officers wrote in a police report that he used his taser because he was unsure whether Pilgrim or Young were armed.

Read more:

7:12 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Hundreds of arrests overnight as police clash with protesters

From CNN’s Brynn Gingras, Carma Hassan and Tina Burnside

Police arrest a man during protests in New York early on Monday, June 1.
Police arrest a man during protests in New York early on Monday, June 1. Wong Maye-E/AP

Hundreds of people have been arrested overnight after taking part in protests across America.

The New York Police department arrested more than 200 during protests overnight, the department’s press office told CNN early Monday morning, adding most of the arrests were made in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

At least seven officers were injured and about a dozen vehicles were damaged during the protests, the NYPD said.

Hundreds of people were also arrested in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, according to officials there.

There were at least nine fires in the city of Santa Monica, and the police and fire department responded to over 1,000 9-1-1 calls since 12 p.m (local), according to a news release from the City of Santa Monica.

The city said in a tweet, “On the average day, the City responds to 200 emergency calls.”

The San Diego Police Department tweeted that “over 100 people were arrested & booked in to jail for charges ranging from failure to disperse, burglary, assaulting officers & vandalism” from May 31 to June 1. 

San Diego Police Sgt. Clinton Leisz said protests had “calmed down quite a bit," but told CNN Leisz that several businesses had been vandalized or looted.

Peaceful demonstrations will be facilitated. Violent & destructive acts will be addressed,” police said in their tweet.

Protests in Charlotte, North Carolina, overnight led to the arrests of 15 people, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police tweeted. 

One of the protesters was arrested for hitting an officer in the face with a rock, the police department said. Three others were arrested on illegal weapon charges. 

WATCH:

6:49 a.m. ET, June 1, 2020

China gifted propaganda win as Trump's protest response undermines US efforts on Hong Kong

Analysis from CNN's James Griffiths in Hong Kong

Protesters running amok. Innocent citizens under siege. Outside actors engaging in terrorist acts. Police struggling to maintain control and in desperate need of reinforcements.

That was how Chinese state media portrayed anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year, dismissing calls for greater democracy and an investigation into police brutality by focusing on individual acts of violence and property damage. The widespread unrest, and the prospect of more this year, has been used to justify a new national security bill that will be imposed upon the city by Beijing in coming months.

Washington has fiercely criticized that bill, moving to strip Hong Kong of its special trading status with the United States and threatening sanctions against officials involved in implementing the legislation. Throughout the protests in Hong Kong last year, the US was consistent in its support of people's right to take to the streets and have their voice heard, and that sporadic violence or illegality did not undermine the core demands or legitimacy of the movement. 

Back in the US: Facing widespread unrest and public anger at home in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, the reaction from US President Donald Trump appeared markedly different.

In a barrage of tweets over the weekend, Trump called protesters "thugs," accused "organized groups" of being behind the violence, blamed the media for fomenting unrest, called for the military to be deployed, and retweeted claims that those behind the unrest were "domestic terrorists."

It was a response that might not have appeared out of place on the pages of China's own government-controlled newspapers, and did not go unnoticed by state media pundits and officials in Beijingsome of whom have publicly delighted in watching the unrest unfold in the US, sarcastically calling for solidarity with protesters and pointing out the alleged hypocrisy of their American counterparts. 

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