Protests broke out across the country Friday as thousands of people demonstrated against the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, a black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday. The white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck was arrested and charged with murder Friday. In addition to the three nights of often-violent protests in Minnesota that left dozens of stores burned and looted, protestors took to the streets all across the country.
Atlanta
A police car has been set on fire in Atlanta, where protesters were using barricades to break the windows of cruisers while others were jumping on the vehicles and shattering windshields.
Hundreds of protesters were confronting police outside CNN’s downtown headquarters late Friday. Activists spray-painted a large CNN logo outside the building, breaking a window and tagging doors. One protester climbed on top of the CNN sign and waved a “Black Lives Matter” flag to cheers from the crowd.
Protesters pelted officers who came over with bottles, striking some of them. Other bottles thrown at authorities exploded behind the police line, but no officers appeared to get hit. Protesters chanted, “Quit your jobs.”
The officers backed their line away from the group of protesters who were throwing objects at them.
Police ordered demonstrators to leave the street and threatened to arrest them if they did not leave quickly.
Protesters used accelerant to burn an American flag. People were watching the scene from rooftops, some laughing at skirmishes that broke out and vandalism by the protesters.
Protesters were also walking on the interstate in downtown Atlanta and appeared to be trying to block traffic.
The Georgia State Patrol has responded.
Earlier, as the protest appeared more calm, Kaity Brackett, 27, said she came out to the protest because she thinks the entire criminal justice system needs to be overhauled, starting with policing. She said the Ahmaud Arbery killing was a catalyst for her and referred to his death as a lynching. Arbery was killed on Feb. 23 by a former district attorney investigator and his son, who were not arrested until after video emerged months later.
Brackett wore a blue mask and sat with her partner and a friend. She was less concerned about the threat from the coronavirus.
“We risk our lives going to the grocery store, going to get gas,” she said. “This is more important than all of that.”
New York City
Demonstrators took to New York City streets on Friday for a second day in protest of the death of Floyd and invoked the names of other black people who died at police hands.
In Brooklyn, crowds of demonstrators chanted at police officers lined up outside the Barclays Center. There were several moments of struggle, as some in the crowd pushed against metal barricades and police pushed back.
Scores of water bottles flew from the crowd toward the officers, and in return police sprayed an eye-irritating chemical at the group twice.
The names of black people killed by police, including Floyd and Eric Garner, who died on Staten Island in 2014, were on signs carried by those in the crowd, and in their chants. Protests have taken place around the country, with some in Minnesota and elsewhere becoming violent.
“It’s my duty to be out here,” said Brianna Petrisko, among those at Foley Square in lower Manhattan, most wearing masks, where the demonstrations started Friday. The protest took place despite coronavirus prohibitions on large gatherings. The demonstrators were gathered in the square, while police stood across the street.
“Our country has a sickness,” Petrisko said. “We have to be out here. This is the only way we’re going to be heard.”
At his Friday briefing, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he stood with the Minnesota protesters.
“Nobody is sanctioning the arson, and the thuggery and the burglaries, but the protesters and the anger and the fear and the frustration? Yes. Yes. And the demand is for justice,” Cuomo said.
At a news conference, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York Police Department officers had been told to respect peaceful protest.
He also had a message for protesters. “If you are angry with the government, if you are angry with the elected leaders, direct that anger to all of us, because if we haven’t done enough, we are the ones who should be held responsible,” he said. “But the police officer in front of you is a working man or woman just trying to do their job.”
White House
The Secret Service ordered the White House locked down for about an hour on Friday evening a protestors gathered outside the gates, according to NBC News.
Protesters chanted “I can’t breath,” “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace" and the Secret Service took a woman into custody after she climbed over a barrier, but no arrests were made by D.C. police officers, the report stated.
They have since moved to outside the Trump International Hotel and were demonstrating there as of 8:30 p.m., NBC reported.
Other Protests
More protests over Floyd’s death were held in Denver, Houston, Albuquerque, San Jose, Las Vegas and other major cities across the country.
Another was held near a Florida town home that belongs to Derek Chauvin, 44, who was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death.
The protesters arrived after social media postings listed the address of Derek Chauvin in the community of Windermere outside Orlando.
They carried signs that said, “He said I can’t breathe. Justice for George,” and “We see you, we hear you ... we love you! #Justice for George.” The handcuffed black man pleaded for air as Chauvin knelt on his neck during an arrest recorded on video by bystanders.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office tweeted from its official account that Chauvin is not at the residence and is not expected there. The office says it’s confirmed he has no plans to be in the area.
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Protests over George Floyd’s death break out in NYC, all over country - NJ.com
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