June 2 George Floyd protest news

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

Updated 1:15 AM ET, Wed June 3, 2020
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9:19 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

At least four police officers were hit with gunfire in St. Louis, Missouri

Protesters demonstrate against police brutality and the death of George Floyd through downtown St. Louis on June 1, in St Louis, Missouri.
Protesters demonstrate against police brutality and the death of George Floyd through downtown St. Louis on June 1, in St Louis, Missouri. Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

At least four officers with the St. Louis Police Department in Missouri were struck by gunfire on Monday night, said the department. 

“We have had 4 officers struck by gunfire tonight. All have been transported to an area hospital. All are conscious and breathing. Their injuries are believed to be non-life threatening. Officers are still taking gunfire downtown," said the police department on Twitter.

Protests took place in multiple cities across the state this week. In Kansas City, protests prompted the mayor to enact a curfew and request assistance from the Missouri National Guard.

In Ferguson -- where protests against police brutality and racism broke out in 2014 after black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer -- the police department building was damaged and evacuated on Sunday.

2:33 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

People around the world are protesting in solidarity

People hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march at Trafalgar Square to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31, in London.
People hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march at Trafalgar Square to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31, in London. Hollie Adams/Getty Images

From Amsterdam to Berlin to Rio de Janeiro, thousands around the world have taken to the streets to protest George Floyd's death in solidarity with Black Lives Matter activists in America.

In Amsterdam, around 3,000 people gathered in the city's Dam Square on Monday to protest against police brutality and racial inequity.

“Institutionally racist violence against black people is a problem that also occurs in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe,” the organizers said in a press statement, according to CNN affiliate and national broadcaster NOS.

In Rio de Janeiro, protesters gathered on Sunday in front of the governor’s palace for a Vidas Negras Importam (Black Lives Matter) demonstration. 

Demonstrators carried signs saying: “If racism is international, so is antiracism,” “Stop killing us,” and “Justice isn’t blind. It’s paid not to look.”

In Paris, a small crowd of peaceful protesters representing several French anti-racism organizations gathered near the US embassy on Monday.

They wore black clothing and face masks, took a knee and held up signs saying “I can’t breathe," “We are all George Floyd” and “Racism chokes us.”

In London, protesters have been arrested throughout the weekend for defying Covid-19 lockdown rules as they march in solidarity with their American counterparts.

"It happens everywhere in the world. People choose to think that it's not going on anymore. That's the biggest racism of all right now -- the fact that they're sitting there thinking that it doesn't exist," said one protester.

There are countless other protests going on: Demonstrations have happened or are being planned across Australia, Germany, Ireland, Greece, and a number of other countries.

Even world leaders are weighing in. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was "horrified" by George Floyd's death, and welcomed peaceful solidarity protests in her country.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed it as well, saying racism against black people was "real in the United States but it's also in Canada."

2:17 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

New York Mayor says police is sending additional help to the Bronx

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted early Tuesday morning that he was leaving the Bronx borough, and that the police commissioner was sending additional assistance. 

"Real problems on Fordham Road, also Burnside Avenue. Spoke with Councilman Fernando Cabrera about immediate steps to address the situation. Also spoke to Commissioner Shea + Chief Pichardo, who are sending additional help," he said.

Earlier Monday night, in the late hours, he had tweeted that it was time for people to go home, as there were people in the city whose intention was “not to protest but to destroy property and hurt others.”

He also said he had visited Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which was "pretty calm" near midnight, and added that protesters today had been "overwhelmingly peaceful."

However, there was also widespread looting later into the night, with store windows smashed and merchandise taken all the way from Midtown and Fifth Avenue down to Union Square.

"That we won’t allow," said de Blasio.

9:19 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

A New York State Senator says he was pepper sprayed and handcuffed at a peaceful protest tonight

New York State Sen. Zellnor Myrie had been peacefully protesting with a crowd in Brooklyn when he was handcuffed and pepper sprayed by police, he told CNN late Monday night.

"I am from Brooklyn. I happen to represent a huge swath of central Brooklyn and when I heard there was a group of folks protesting police brutality I decided to make my way down," he said.

He wanted to join not only to show solidarity -- but also potentially act as a liaison between protesters and law enforcement, given his position as an elected official, he said.

Once he arrived, he alerted police of his presence, and wore a neon green shirt with his name and title on it. But still, he got caught up in escalating scuffles, he said.

"As I was obeying orders, they were telling us to back up, I was backing up. Trying to protect some of the protesters behind me. Being compliant. I started getting hit in my back by bicycles wielded by the police officers. I was pushed. I was shoved. Ultimately pepper-sprayed, and subsequently handcuffed. Simply because I was there to forcefully protest," he told CNN.

He said it took a little while for law enforcement to realize who he was -- and he was finally released and given medical attention.

But this treatment was "only because of my title," he said. "Had I not had the luxury of my title, I would have been in the system and processed, much like any of the other protesters."

Watch more:

1:56 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

White supremacists are posing as Antifa online and calling for violence

From CNN's Donie O'Sullivan

A Twitter account that tweeted a call to violence and claimed to be representing the position of "Antifa" was in fact created by a known white supremacist group, Twitter said Monday. The company removed the account.

"This account violated our platform manipulation and spam policy, specifically the creation of fake accounts," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. "We took action after the account sent a Tweet inciting violence and broke the Twitter Rules."

Although the account only had a few hundred followers, it is an example of white supremacists seeking to inflame tensions in the United States by posing as left-wing activists online.

Antifa, short for anti-fascists, describes an extremely broad, loosely-organized group of people whose political beliefs lean toward the left — often the far-left — but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform.

The revelation of the deceptive account comes as President Donald Trump increasingly blames left-wing activists for violence occurring at protests. On Sunday, he tweeted he would designate Antifa a terrorist organization, despite the US government having no existing legal authority to do so. 

Read more here:

9:13 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

Washington DC mayor says federal police actions were "shameful"

From CNN's Alex Marquardt

Milk is poured into a demonstrator's eyes to neutralize the effect of pepper spray during a rally at Lafayette Park near the White House in Washington D.C., on Sunday, May 31.
Milk is poured into a demonstrator's eyes to neutralize the effect of pepper spray during a rally at Lafayette Park near the White House in Washington D.C., on Sunday, May 31. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

The mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser, tweeted that the actions of the federal police at the White House on Sunday had been "shameful."

"I imposed a curfew at 7 p.m. A full 25 minutes before the curfew & without provocation, federal police used munitions on peaceful protestors in front of the White House, an act that will make the job of (DC Police Department) officers more difficult. Shameful!"

She also urged residents to go home and stay safe.

What happened today: On Monday evening, Trump delivered remarks in the White House Rose Garden, before walking to the church to take a photo with a Bible.

Before his remarks, police released tear gas and fired rubber bullets at protesters near the White House in an effort to disperse the crowd for the visit to the church.

Watch more:

9:18 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

Minnesota officials now say no evidence the trucker intentionally drove into protesters Sunday

From CNN’s Andy Rose

People react after a tanker truck drove into a crowd peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd on the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River on May 31, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
People react after a tanker truck drove into a crowd peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd on the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River on May 31, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Minnesota authorities are now saying a man who drove a tanker truck toward protesters may not have done so intentionally.

What happened: On Sunday, Bogdan Vechirko drove a tanker truck toward a group of protesters on the I-35W bridge near Minneapolis. It doesn't appear anybody was injured. He was subsequently arrested and charged with assault.

On Sunday, Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington's department tweeted that the driver was “inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators.”

But Harrington walked it back today, saying, “We don't have any information that makes this seem like this was an intentional act."

Harrington says the state had not yet finished putting up roadblocks when Vechirko was on the freeway. “He saw the crowd, and from what it looked like, panicked,” said Harrington.

Vechirko is being interviewed by investigators, but Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell says it will be up to the county attorney whether to pursue the case.

Jail records show that Vechirko was still in custody without bail Monday night.

9:13 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

Floyd family's lawyer: The autopsy shows the other officers also contributed to his death

A memorial site where George Floyd died May 25 while in police custody, on June 1, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A memorial site where George Floyd died May 25 while in police custody, on June 1, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Ben Crump, the attorney for George Floyd's family, said the independent autopsy released today shows the other police officers involved were also directly responsible for Floyd's death -- not just former officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with third degree murder.

The autopsy: Independent medical examiners hired by Floyd's family said today that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to compression of the neck.

The examiner added that “compression of the back” from other officers who knelt against Floyd’s back also interfered with Floyd’s breathing.  

"Hopefully, (Minnesota) Attorney General Keith Ellison will now consider that as he looks at the other officers," Crump told CNN tonight. "The ambulance was the hearse for George Floyd ... because he was dead at the scene."

"The George Floyd autopsy resulted that he literally was starving for air. He needed a breath. So the Floyd family and I am asking everybody in America: let's take a breath for justice. Let's take a breath for peace. Let's take a breath to heal our country. And let's take a breath for George."
9:18 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020

California police arrested dozens of protesters after curfew in Los Angeles and Oakland tonight

A protester is arrested for violating a curfew on Monday, June 1, in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles.
A protester is arrested for violating a curfew on Monday, June 1, in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

In Oakland, California, just east of San Francisco, peaceful protesters are being detained and arrested for being on the streets past the curfew.

"This follows a very peaceful protest that we saw this afternoon. We saw hundreds of youth throughout Oakland marching throughout the streets. There was a rally at a local high school, then they came downtown," said CNN Correspondent Dan Simon on the scene.

The Oakland Police Department said in a tweet that it had detained more than 40 people for violating curfew, and urged people to stay home.

The curfew went into effect at 8 p.m. local time, and will stay in place until 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

It's not just Oakland: Further south along California, police in Los Angeles also arrested protesters who are out after curfew. A small crowd was detained in Sunset Boulevard, in the middle of Hollywood, with their hands held by zip ties.

Police officers in squad cars were seen shouting out their windows that it was a curfew, and that those still out would be arrested and have their cars impounded.

The Los Angeles police said on Twitter that "dozens" had been arrested for burglary after a drugstore had been looted earlier in the day.

Oakland mayor on freedom of protest: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf acknowledged earlier today that there is a painful history of curfews in America used as a form of government oppression -- but that this was about safety and security rather than censorship.

“I want to be clear that this is in no way to quell what we are passionate about and that is free speech and protest,” she said.