George Floyd protests

For a list of protests, see List of George Floyd protests.

George Floyd protests
Part of human rights and police brutality in the US
From top, left to right: Protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis, a protester standing on a damaged police vehicle, protesters with raised fists outside the Minneapolis Police's 3rd Precinct, protesters overtaking and burning the precinct, protesters confronting police, armored police with military accompaniment, and demonstrators on a torched street with firefighters working in the background.
Date	May 26, 2020 – present (3 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location	United States (solidarity protests outside U.S. embassies and consulates in other countries)
Caused by	Killing of George Floyd while being arrested by Minneapolis Police Police brutality Lack of police accountability Racism against minorities
Methods	Protests, demonstrations, civil disobedience, civil resistance, looting, assault, arson and property damage
Status	Ongoing
Deaths, injuries and arrests
Death(s)	5+
Arrested	5,600+

The George Floyd protests are an ongoing series of protests and riots in response to police brutality that began as local protests in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota before spreading throughout the United States and then worldwide. The protests began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, following the killing of George Floyd, in which Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over eight minutes after pinning him to the ground during an arrest.

As of June 1, there were protests in more than 200 cities in the United States and internationally supporting those seeking justice for Floyd as well as speaking out against police brutality. At least 12 major cities declared a curfew on the evening of Saturday, May 30, and as of June 2, governors in 23 states and Washington, D.C., had called in the National Guard, with over 17,000 troops activated. From the beginning of the protests to the morning of June 2, at least 5,600 people had been arrested.

Background

History of police brutality in the United States

Further information: Police brutality in the United States

Frequent cases of police brutality and fatal use of force by law enforcement officers in the United States have long led the civil rights movement and various other activists to protest against the lack of police accountability in incidents involving the use of excessive force. The Watts riots in 1965 were a response to police brutality during the civil rights movement. Confrontations with police during the 1965 riots resulted in the deaths of 34 people, most of whom were African-Americans. The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a response to the acquittal of the police officers responsible for excessive force used on Rodney King. In recent times, these have included the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; the negligence that led to the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015, the 2016 shooting of Philando Castile and the 2017 shooting of Justine Damond, both in Minnesota; and the 2014 death of Eric Garner in New York City, who, similarly to George Floyd, said, "I can't breathe." In March 2020, the Kentucky shooting of Breonna Taylor by police at her own apartment was widely publicized.

COVID-19 pandemic

See also: § Concerns over COVID-19 transmission

Further information: Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota

Measures taken against the growing COVID-19 pandemic, including closure of non-essential businesses and implementation of a stay-at-home order, had significant economic and social impact on many Americans as millions lost their jobs and were made more economically vulnerable. Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota, said he was of the opinion that people "have been cooped up for two months, and so now they're in a different space and a different place. They're restless. Some of them have been unemployed, some of them don't have rent money, and they're angry, they're frustrated."

In April, anti-lockdown protests were held in several U.S. states, including Minnesota, calling governors to lift some restrictions and start "re-opening the country."

Killing of George Floyd

Main article: Killing of George Floyd

Memorial at the site of Floyd's death

On May 25, 2020, at 8:08 p.m. CDT, MPD officers responded to a 9-1-1 call regarding a "forgery in progress" on Chicago Avenue South in Powderhorn, Minneapolis. According to police, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, was in a nearby car and "appeared to be under the influence." A spokesman for the police department said the officers ordered him to exit the vehicle, at which point he "physically resisted." A video taken by a bystander shows Floyd being removed from his vehicle without any resistance.

According to the MPD, officers "were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance." However, a Facebook Live livestream recorded by a bystander showed that Derek Chauvin, a 48-year-old white police officer, had pinned Floyd on the ground and was kneeling on his neck. Floyd repeatedly tells Chauvin "Please" and "I can't breathe," while a bystander is heard telling the police officer, "You got him down. Let him breathe." After some time, a bystander points out that Floyd was bleeding from his nose while another bystander tells the police that Floyd is "not even resisting arrest right now," to which the police tell the bystanders that Floyd was "talking, he's fine." A bystander replies saying Floyd "ain't fine." A bystander then protests that the police were preventing Floyd from breathing, urging them to "get him off the ground ... You could have put him in the car by now. He's not resisting arrest or nothing." Floyd then goes silent and motionless. An ambulance arrives and Chauvin does not remove his knee until emergency medical services put Floyd on a stretcher. Not only had Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for about seven minutes (including four minutes after Floyd stopped moving) but another video showed an additional two officers had also knelt on Floyd while another officer watched.

Medics were unable to detect a pulse, and Floyd was pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy of Floyd was conducted on May 26, and the next day, the preliminary report by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office was published, stating "no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation." Floyd's underlying health conditions included coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. The initial report said that "[t]he combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death." The medical examiner further said Floyd was "high on fentanyl and had recently used methamphetamine at the time of his death." However, on June 1, a private autopsy commissioned by the family of Floyd ruled the death a homicide and found that Floyd had died due to asphyxiation from sustained pressure, which conflicts with the original autopsy report done earlier that week. Shortly after, the official post-mortem declared Floyd's death a homicide.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said, "no police academy that we know of teaches a police officer to use their knee, to put it on their neck. That's just not taught because that can impact their breathing and their carotid artery (a crucial vessel that supplies blood to the brain)." Video footage of the incident generated widespread national attention and raised questions about the appropriate use of force by law enforcement.

Minneapolis–St. Paul protests

Main article: George Floyd protests in Minnesota

Minneapolis protesters marching on May 26, the day after Floyd's death

Protests began around midday on May 26, the day after Floyd's death. The protests continued into May 27. A man was fatally shot by a pawn shop owner who thought the man was looting, and the Third Precinct's windows were smashed. Multiple stores were looted, and other buildings were attacked and set ablaze. Protests at the MPD's Third Precinct saw some demonstrators skirmishing with law enforcement officers, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets. A state of emergency was declared in Minneapolis on May 28 by Mayor Jacob Frey, and 500 Minnesota National Guard troops were deployed to the Twin Cities area. By morning, more than 30 businesses in Minneapolis had been damaged by rioters. The Saint Paul Police Department reported that 170 businesses were damaged or looted on Thursday, and dozens of fires started. There was no police, fire, or EMS presence in the area where the riots occurred from around 10:00 p.m. CDT on May 28 into the early hours of May 29. MPD in the Third Precinct building attempted to hold off the protesters with tear gas, but at around 11:00 p.m. on May 28, protesters overran the building and set it ablaze after it was evacuated. Later that morning at 5:11 am CDT, CNN reporter Omar Jiménez, who is of African-American and Colombian descent, and camera crew were arrested by Minnesota State Patrol officers as Jiménez reported live on television.

For several days following Floyd's death, hundreds of protesters gathered at the driveway of Chauvin's house, which prompted police response.

On May 29, Walz imposed a curfew for the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul that would run from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also issued a similar curfew. Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on May 29. Despite the announcement of the charges and the new curfew, riots broke out again on Friday night and well into early Saturday morning. Law enforcement presence was reportedly "undetectable", as violence in Minneapolis quickly expanded until just before midnight, when police officers, state troopers, and members of the National Guard began confronting rioters with tear gas and mass force.

As of May 30, 2,500 officers were deployed and 50 people have been arrested in relation to the protests. President Donald Trump assured Walz of military support if needed. Major General Jon Jensen of the Minnesota National Guard said that by May 31, over 1,700 National Guard soldiers could be deployed. This would be the largest national deployment in the state's history. Jensen confirmed that 2,500 guards would be deployed by noon. The 4,100 troops of the Minnesota National Guard is scheduled to increase to 10,800 on May 31.

Protests elsewhere

Main article: List of George Floyd protests

There were simultaneous protests in hundreds of cities in the United States and internationally, with demonstrators supporting those seeking justice for Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, and speaking out against police brutality. Cities with major protests included Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Virginia, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The bulk of these protests were peaceful, but many of them turned violent as the violence in the Twin Cities riots increased and police response escalated.

Outside the United States, early protests against the killing of George Floyd, anti-black racism and police brutality also took place, notably in Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Paris, Perth, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Activation of military

States that have activated the National Guard in response to the protests

As of June 2, governors in 23 states and Washington, D.C. had called in the National Guard to respond to the protests. Over 17,000 troops have been activated.

During an address on Monday, June 1, Trump threatened to deploy the U.S. military in response to the unrest: "If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them". This would require invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, which was last invoked to quell the 1992 Los Angeles riots on May 1st, 1992 by Executive Order 12804  – via Wikisource.

Also on June 1, Arkansas senator Tom Cotton pushed for the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division to be deployed to quell the unrest, calling protestors "Antifa terrorists".

Deaths

As of June 1, 2020, several deaths have been linked to the George Floyd demonstrations by investigators or noted for their proximity to demonstrations.

• On May 27 in Minneapolis, Calvin Horton Jr. died after being fatally shot during a protest. A local shopowner was arrested, and police sources indicated that the suspect had blamed Horton for the looting of his store.
• On May 30 in St. Louis, a man died after being run over by a FedEx truck trailer that, according to police, was fleeing from a mob.
• On May 30 in Omaha, 22-year-old protester James Scurlock was fatally shot outside of a bar. The shooter was the owner of the bar, who had a scuffle with a group of protesters and ended up firing several shots, one of which struck Scurlock in the clavicle, killing him. Two days later, it was announced by authorities that there will be no charges for the bar's owner and that he had opened fire in self-defense.
• On June 1 in Louisville, local restaurateur David McAtee was killed when the Louisville Metro Police and the Kentucky National Guard opened fire on a crowd of protesters. These authorities alleged that they returned fire after shots were fired at them. According to the victim's sister, the gathering was not a protest but rather a regularly scheduled social gathering at which McAtee served food from his barbecue restaurant. An investigation of the killing is ongoing. LMPD Chief Steve Conrad was fired later that day, as officers and troops involved in the shooting did not wear or failed to activate body cameras.
• On June 1 in Davenport, Iowa, two people were fatally shot on a night with significant rioting. One police officer was also wounded in a shooting.
• On June 1 in Cicero, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), two people were killed following an "afternoon of unrest"; this was confirmed by Cicero Police. According to Al Jazeera English, "additional information about those killed or the circumstances of their deaths" was not provided.
• On June 1 in Las Vegas, police shot and killed an armed man wearing body armor. The man was walking among protesters as a demonstration was coming to an end and reached for his weapon when he was shot.

Four more deaths, including of a police officer, were reported on during the protests, but investigations were ongoing into whether those deaths were related to the unrest.

Violence and controversies

Police violence

External videos
Two NYPD vehicles ramming into a crowd of protestors, @pgarapon on Twitter

There have been numerous reports and videos of aggressive police actions using physical force as well as "batons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters, bystanders and journalists, often without warning or seemingly unprovoked." These incidents have provoked "growing concern that aggressive law enforcement tactics intended to impose order were instead inflaming tensions." Police responded that such tactics are necessary to prevent vandalism and arson, and that police officers themselves have been assaulted with thrown rocks and water bottles. In response to the violence, Amnesty International issued a press release calling for the police to end excessive militarized responses to the protests.

Arrests in New York City, May 30

Two New York City Police Department vehicles were recorded ramming into protesters surrounding and throwing objects at the vehicles; New York City mayor Bill de Blasio defended the officers' actions and an investigation into the event was initiated. Another NYPD police officer was recorded throwing down a female protester with both hands while calling her a "stupid fucking bitch." The protester was hospitalized after the assault and claims to have suffered a seizure. An officer in Salt Lake City pushed an unarmed elderly man walking with a cane to the ground.

On May 30, a video was posted online showing police officers in Minnesota ordering residents on their porches to go inside and after a few demands, they fired paint rounds at the residents after shouting "Light 'em up!" On the same day, in Atlanta, two police officers broke the windows of a vehicle, yanked a woman out of the car and tased a man. The two victims were identified as two college students who joined the protests. The two police officers were fired after a video showed them using "excessive force". Also on the same day, a grandmother participating in a protest in La Mesa, California was shot by the police with a rubber bullet between her eyes, and ended up being taken to an intensive care unit. In Seattle, an officer placed his knee on the back of the neck of a looting suspect; after onlookers shouted for him to remove his knee from the man's neck his partner pulled it off.

Several African American politicians including State Senator Zellnor Myrie, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin and Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce have been pepper sprayed by the police.

Protester violence

In Buffalo, a car rammed a police line near where protesters had gathered. Two officers were seriously injured and subsequently hospitalized, with three people being arrested.

On the night of May 30, a video posted online showed a white man being beaten up by mob of mainly black protesters in Dallas. According to Fox Business, the man appeared to defend a store and was reportedly armed with a machete and has skirmished with rioters, who were throwing rocks at him. The man was injured, but was able to sit up and was treated at the scene before being taken away in an ambulance, where he was considered to be in a stable condition.

President Donald Trump called the act of violence "terrible" and demanded arrests and "long term jail sentences" for protesters. According to protesters, they acted in self-defense, and the video was edited to give "false impression" about protests. According to BlackSportsOnline.com, Charles Shoultz later claimed to be the man who was attacked by the crowd of protesters, blaming himself for instigating fight, explaining that he was merely "trying to protect the bar he likes to drink at". Dallas Police said that the incident is part of an ongoing investigation.

Violence against journalists

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker recorded at least 19 arrests, at least 36 incidents of being shot at, at least 76 assaults, and 10 incidents in which equipment was damaged during the protests. In comparison, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented between 100 and 150 such incidents per year for the past three years. Many journalists described being intentionally targeted by police even after they identified themselves as press. One journalism professor suggested that the unusual aggressiveness toward journalists might relate to President Trump's repeated attacks on the press as "enemies of the people"; in a May 31 tweet, Trump blamed the "lamestream media" for the protests and said that journalists are "truly bad people with a sick agenda".

From police

External videos
Miami protestors react to police firing chemical irritants on May 30
CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and his filming crew arrested by police during a live television report, CNN
Officer fires pepper bullets at WAVE reporter in Louisville, MSNBC
Australian 7News reporter attacked by police on live television in Washington DC, 7 News

Journalists at several protests were injured and arrested by police while trying to cover the story, being shot by rubber bullets, or sprayed by tear gas. As of 31 March, Bellingcat has identified and documented at least 50 separate incidents where journalists were attacked by law enforcement officials during the protests. According to Bellingcat, "law enforcement across multiple cities, but especially in Minneapolis, are knowingly and deliberately targeting journalists with less lethal munitions, arrests and other forms of violence."

Omar Jiménez, a black Latino CNN reporter, and his filming crew were arrested while giving a live television report on May 29 in Minneapolis by the Minnesota State Patrol, and then released about an hour later. After the incident took place, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said that he deeply apologizes for what happened and would work to have the crew released, calling the event "unacceptable" and adding that there was "absolutely no reason something like this should happen." CNN called the arrests a "clear violation of their First Amendment rights" in a tweet posted the same day. After the incident the Minnesota State Patrol tweeted that "In the course of clearing the streets and restoring order at Lake Street and Snelling Avenue, four people were arrested by State Patrol troopers, including three members of a CNN crew. The three were released once they were confirmed to be members of the media," however the CNN crew had already informed the troopers that they were members of the media before and during the arrest and carried the relevant paperwork and identification with them. The Minneapolis Police Department falsely stated both while performing the arrest and via Twitter that his crew had not adequately responded when asked what they were doing.

Linda Tirado, a freelance photo journalist, was hit in the eye with a rubber bullet or a pellet by the police in Minneapolis, and following surgery has been left permanently blind in that eye.

Also on May 29 in Louisville, Kentucky, an officer fired pepper bullets at a reporter from NBC affiliate WAVE who was reporting live on air for her station. The station manager issued a statement strongly condemning the incident, saying there was "no justification for police to wantonly open fire."

On the evening of May 28, officers fired pepper bullets at several employees of The Denver Post who were reporting on protests in Denver, Colorado. A photographer was struck twice by pepper bullets, sustaining injuries on his arm. The photographer believed it was not accidental, saying, "If it was one shot, I can say it was an accident. I'm very sure it was the same guy twice. I’m very sure he pointed at me." Another journalist said an officer shot at least one pepper bullet at her feet.

On May 30, members of a Reuters crew were fired on with rubber bullets in Minneapolis shortly after a curfew they were reporting on began. One reporter was hit in the arm and neck while another was hit in the face, which deflected off his gas mask. Also in Minneapolis, France 2's U.S. correspondent Agnès Varamian said her photojournalist, Fabien Fougère, was hurt by non-lethal bullets as she shouted "press" to the police. Expressen's U.S. correspondent Nina Svanberg was also hit in the leg with rubber bullets.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, a reporter for NPR- and PRI-affiliate KPCC was hit in the throat with a rubber bullet, on May 31.

Ali Velshi and his MSNBC crew were hit with rubber bullets live on air in Minneapolis. CBC News correspondent Susan Ormiston was also hit by rubber bullets during live coverage there. Michael George from the same network also reported his sound engineer being hit by a rubber bullet in the same city.

Sarah Belle, an independent journalist, was hit by a rubber bullet in Oakland.

Los Angeles Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske reported reporters and camera crews being at the receiving end of tear gas by Minnesota State Patrol, while the same happened to an ABC7 crew in Santa Monica. Several Detroit Free Press journalists were pepper sprayed by the city's police, as was KSTP reporter Ryan Raiche along other journalists. Michael Adams from Vice News also reported that happening to him and other journalists present.

HuffPost journalist Christopher Mathias was arrested in Brooklyn, as were independent journalist Simon Moya-Smith in Minneapolis, and CNN's Keith Boykin in New York.

During a live television broadcast for 7 News, Australian journalist Amelia Brace was clubbed with a police baton and cameraman Tim Myers was hit in the chest by a riot shield as they covered protests near the White House on June 1. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the assault and requested the Embassy of Australia in Washington, D.C., to investigate the incident.

On June 2, The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced that they would be investigating the alleged assault of a Wall Street Journal reporter, that took place on May 31, by members of the New York Police Department.

From protesters

Protesters burning a police car in Pittsburgh on May 30

In Atlanta, the CNN Center was attacked and damaged by protesters on May 29.

Protesters break windows in businesses in Saint Paul, Minnesota, May 28

In the District of Columbia on May 30, a Fox News crew was attacked outside the White House by a group of protesters while reporting on the scene. The crew was chased for several hundred meters until the police intervened.

Pittsburgh Public Safety said that three local journalists were injured on May 30 when protesters "stomped and kicked" them and destroyed their camera. One said he was rescued by other protesters, reportedly including David Morehouse. He and another were transported to a hospital.

Allegations of foreign involvement

There have been allegations of foreign influence stoking the unrest online, with the role of outside powers being additive rather than decisive as of May 31. The CEO of Graphika, which helped the U.S. Senate form its report on Russian social media influence during the 2016 elections, noted "very active engagement" from account clusters from Russia, Iran, and China, and as of May 31 noted that his team was launching an investigation on the matter of possible foreign influence.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, the current acting Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, asserted "very heavy" social media activity linked to "at least three foreign adversaries", noting that while they "didn't create these divisions", they are "actively stoking and promoting violence". National security advisor Robert C. O'Brien said that there may be Russian activists who are exploiting the situation, but also, in reference to Chinese officials on social media, that "it's coming straight from the government." Former national security advisor Susan Rice stated that the violence that was emerging was "right out of the Russian playbook", drawing angry responses from Russian officials with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying that Rice is trying to blame Russia again for the United States' own domestic problems instead of facing her own people. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied there being any interactions between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump regarding the protests.

Reports of extremist activities

There have been accusations of various extremist groups using the cover of the protests to foment general unrest in the United States. According to CNN, "although interference in this way may be happening, federal and local officials have yet to provide evidence to the public."

Far-left and anarchist involvement

Trump blamed "far left extremist groups" for inciting and organizing violent riots. During a press conference, Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said Antifa were behind the violence during the protests. He added, "It's just a damn shame that they took advantage of the situation, for (...) something [that] happened in another state where somebody died who shouldn't have died, and they hijacked that message for their own." U.S. Attorney General William Barr blamed "anarchic and far left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics" for the violence at the protests. "The voices of peaceful protest are being hijacked by violent radical elements," Barr said. According to a Justice Department spokesperson, Barr came to this conclusion after being provided with information from state and local law enforcement agencies. Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism of the NYPD John Miller said there is a high level of confidence within the department that unnamed "anarchist groups" had planned to commit vandalism and violence in advance.

On May 31, Trump announced that he planned to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist group. Various government and non-government officials claim that designating domestic terrorist groups is prohibited by the First Amendment.

Far-right and white supremacist involvement

On May 29, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz noted the then-unconfirmed reports of white supremacists as well as drug cartels taking advantage of the protests. Although reports that all or most of the individuals arrested were not from Minnesota turned out to be false, the presence of white supremacist groups aiming to exploit the protests to incite violence was confirmed the following day by Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington.

On May 30, Minnesota officials including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Governor Tim Waltz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter stated they believed that white nationalists were using the protests as cover for inciting violence, and that Minnesota officials were monitoring the ongoing far-right online effort to incite violence. On the other hand, Howard Graves, an analyst at the SPLC stated on May 31 that he did not see clear evidence of "white supremacists or militiamen" heading out to "burn and loot". The University of St. Thomas' Lisa Waldner, an analyst of the American white supremacist and anarchist movements, has noted that the goal of many of the individuals involved in the destruction of Minneapolis was to create chaos so as to pursue their own agendas. White nationalist Facebook groups reportedly began urging members to "get their loot on". In at least 20 cities across the country as of May 31, members of hate groups and far-right organizations filmed themselves at the demonstrations.

Vice and New York University's Reiss Center reported that far-right accelerationists, who aim to exacerbate tensions and speed up the supposed coming of a "civil war", have urged followers online to use the protests as an occasion to carry out violence; an eco-fascist Telegram channel with almost 2500 subscribers posted on the 28th that "a riot would be the perfect place to commit a murder". Analysis by Vice and the New York Times also noted the proliferation of chatter on 4Chan hailing the violence as the beginning of a "race war". Such tactics match a long running history of accelerationists exploiting moments of political and/or civil unrest to, in the words of historian Stuart Wexler, "produce racial polarization and eventual retaliation" which would then swell the ranks of whites supporting white supremacist violence, ultimately leading to a race war that they hope will "purify" America through ethnic cleansing. Analogous tactics were used by their ideological forebears in the 1960s, and accelerationist ideas are proliferated on web forums and have inspired various white supremacist acts of violence, being featured also in the manifesto of the perpetrator of the Christchurch massacre.

The presence of Boogaloo Bois, an armed anti-government far-right extremist movement that seeks a Second American Civil War, noticeable for their Hawaiian shirts, have also been reported at the protests. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has expressed concern about these people on Twitter. Administrators of the Facebook page Big Igloo Bois, a splinter of the Boogaloo movement, called for members to attend the protests with one administrator stating, "come in peace, prepare for there to be violence." While some of the Boogaloo Bois have espoused racial supremacist views, other groups, such as the Big Igloo Bois, have aimed to make common cause with the Black Lives Matter movement due to their shared mistrust of the police.

According to a Twitter spokesperson, an account pretending to belong to a national “antifa” organization and pushing violent rhetoric related to ongoing protests has been linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa.

Use of social media

Many individuals of the general population and celebrities used social media to document the protests, spread information and donation sites, and post memorials to George Floyd. Cardi B used her social media to comment on the police brutality and looting during the protests stating; "Police brutality been going on even way before I was born, but it has been more visual ever since social media" and "How many peaceful protests have we seen? How many trending hashtags have we seen? People are tired. Now this [looting] is what people have to resort to."

The hashtag #WalkWithUs was used to highlight law enforcement individuals who joined protesters in protesting against police brutality, such as in Santa Cruz, California, and Flint, Michigan. Childish Gambino's song "This is America" was used heavily by protesters sharing footage of protests and police action on TikTok. Others used personal Twitter pages to post video documentation of the protests to highlight police and protestors actions, and points of the protests they felt would not be reported. Such as a viral photo that appears to show white women protestors standing with their arms locked between Louisville Metro Police Officers and black protestors with the caption describing the image and "This is love. This is what you do with your privilege."

During this time, multiple videos of the looting, protests and riots were shared by journalists and protestors with many videos going viral. One such was footage of a destroyed and smoky Target store interior, that the poster claimed was in Minneapolis and destroyed during the protests, within 12 hours of being posted on Twitter the video had accumulated over 2.5 million views.

Following Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, 15-year old Kellen started a Change.org petition labelled "Justice for George Floyd" demanding that all four police officers involved should be charged. The petition has gained over 10 million signatures, making it the largest petition in the site's history. Celebrities like Beyoncé have shown their support by promoting this petition on Instagram. Director Spike Lee posted a short film on his social media to support the protests and highlighted the deaths Floyd, Eric Garner and fictional character Radio Raheem in his film Do the Right Thing. The short uses footage of the deaths of all three men and opens with the word; "Will history stop repeating itself?"

Misinformation

Misinformation was spread across social media, hours prior to the beginning of the first protests. Internet users and celebrities spread images of men wearing MAGA hats that were falsely identified as Chauvin. Social media users claimed a man videoed breaking the windows of an AutoZone in Minneapolis on May 27 was an undercover Saint Paul Police officer; the Saint Paul Police Department denied these claims through a statement on Twitter. Others spread images of damage from other protests or incidents, falsely attributing the damage to the George Floyd protests.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speculated that there was "an organized attempt to destabilize civil society," initially stating that as many as 80% of the individuals had possibly come from outside the state, and the mayor of St. Paul, Melvin Carter, said that everyone arrested in St. Paul on May 29 was from out of state. However, this was shown to be incorrect, as records proved that the majority of those arrested were in-state. At a press conference later the same day, Carter explained that he had "shared... arrest data received in [his] morning police briefing which [he] later learned to be inaccurate."

Disinformation and internet jamming

Twitter suspended hundreds of accounts associated with spreading a false claim about a communications failure during protests in Washington DC.

Reactions

Domestic

Federal

Donald J. Trump Twitter @realDonaldTrump

Replying to @realDonaldTrump

....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!

May 29, 2020

On May 27, 2020, President Donald Trump tweeted "At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd...."

On May 29, Trump responded to the riots by threatening that either "the very weak Radical Left Mayor Jacob Frey get his act together and bring the City under control" or he will send in the National Guard, adding that "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts." The tweet was interpreted as quoting former Miami Police Chief Walter Headley, who said "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" in December 1967, as Miami saw escalating tensions and racial protests aimed at the 1968 Republican National Convention. Trump's use of the quote was seen by Twitter as an incitement of violence; Twitter placed the tweet behind a public interest notice for breaching its terms of service in regards to incitement of violence. The next day, Trump commented on his original tweet, saying, "Looting leads to shooting, and that's why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night - or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot. I don't want this to happen, and that's what the expression put out last night means...."

In a May 31 series of tweets, Trump blamed the press for the protests and said that journalists are "truly bad people with a sick agenda". He also said that governors have been "weak" and should use their National Guard units to "dominate the streets". He added that he was "dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers" to deal with rioting in Washington, D.C. In a call with governors, Trump insisted that they "have to dominate ... 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".

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) argued that extremists from the far-left and the far-right wanted to take aim at civil society and could potentially start a 2nd Civil War.

States

On May 30, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated that the riots have exposed the "inequality and discrimination in the criminal justice system" and that "When you have one episode, two episodes maybe you can look at them as individual episodes. But when you have 10 episodes, 15 episodes, you are blind or in denial if you are still treating each one like a unique situation,"

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called for protesters to express their anger through "non-violent" means. She decried the riots as illegitimate and accused them of harming Atlanta rather than helping.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, while sympathizing with the anger of protesters, asked for citizens to stop the violence and have a "Respectful, peaceful dialogue."

Support in the entertainment industry

Main article: Entertainment industry response to George Floyd protests

The entertainment industry has been supportive of protesters, exhibited by a number of prominent figures supporting the protests and adjacent Black Lives Matter causes. Much of the music industry called for a "blackout" on June 2.

Television networks owned by ViacomCBS, including BET, CBS Sports Network, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo TV, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, the Smithsonian Channel, TV Land, and VH1 suspended regular programming for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on June 1 at 5pm as a tribute to Floyd. The networks aired a video with the caption "I can't breathe" accompanied with breathing sounds, while Nickelodeon aired a separate scrolling video containing language from the Declaration of Kids' Rights, which the network first created on June 7, 1990.

Commercial

On the morning of May 29, Target temporarily closed 24 of its locations in the Twin Cities area, and reopened all but six the same day. Target later announced that they would be closing 73 of their Minnesota stores until further notice and made a commitment to rebuilding the store on Lake Street. On May 31, Target closed 49 stores in California and 12 stores in New York.

Concerns over health

Surgeon General Jerome Adams said, in relation to the protests, that the U.S. "must acknowledge & address the impact of racism on health." He also tweeted:

U.S. Surgeon General Twitter @Surgeon_General

Replying to @Surgeon_General

5/ We won’t fix or remove all the obstacles and stressors that are affecting people’s health and well-being – especially ones like racism – over night. That doesn’t mean we mustn't try at all. Change happens over time and there needs to be meaningful progress.

May 30, 2020

Concerns over COVID-19 transmission

See also: COVID-19 pandemic § Transmission

Health experts warned that the mass protests likely facilitate an accelerated spread of COVID-19. The Minnesota Department of Health raised concerns that the protests may exacerbate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz expressed worries over a spike in COVID-19 cases. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shared similar worries describing the protests as "inherently dangerous in the context of this pandemic". He also stated that people have the right to protest but that they don't have the "right to infect other people", or the "right to act in a way that's going to jeopardize public health." Mayor of Washington, D.C. Muriel Bowser stated that "We've been working hard to not have mass gatherings. As a nation, we have to be concerned about rebound." Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms stated that "I am extremely concerned when we're seeing mass gatherings. We know what's happening in our community with this virus," She also said "If you were out protesting last night, you probably need to go get a Covid test this week." Maryland Governor Larry Hogan shared a similar sentiment, saying that "There's no questions that when you put hundreds or thousands of people together in close proximity when we've got this virus all over the streets is not healthy".

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney requested that citizens protest according to social distancing guidelines. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked for citizens to protest wearing masks to prevent spread of the disease. Minnesota's governor stated that "too many" protesters weren't applying physical person-to-person distances or wearing masks. Some police officers also weren't adhering to protective rules and norms such as wearing masks. Floyd's family encouraged those attending the official public memorial to do so wearing masks and gloves. Experts have mixed views of the potential efficacy of properly used, non-N95 masks and note that using a face mask does not warrant stopping other protective practices such as keeping sufficient physical distance from others. Ashish Jha, the director of the global health institute at Harvard's TH Chan School of public believes that masks are a critical part of protesting safely and in accordance to COVID-19 guidelines. Theodore Long, a doctor affiliated with New York's contact tracing strategy, echoed Jha's point as well as advocating for attendants to "practice proper hand hygiene and to the extent possible, socially distance".

Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under President Donald Trump said that "There's going to be a lot of issues coming out of what's happened in the last week, but one of them is going to be that chains of transmission will have become lit from these gatherings". Megan Ranney, an emergency room physician and researcher at Brown University called for people to examine the racial disparities of the COVID-19 spread and their relation to the protests.

International

Many nations around the world have watched the unrest in the United States in horror and are alarmed by the chaos and violence.

Countries

• Australia – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated his beliefs that violent protests would not create change. He warned against Australian demonstrations taking a similar course as "there's no need to import things happening in other countries".
• Canada – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for Canada to "stand together in solidarity" against racial discrimination. He said Canadians are watching the police violence in the United States in "shock and horror."
• China – The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "black lives matter and their human rights should be guaranteed" and hoped that "the U.S. government would take all necessary measures to deal with the violent law enforcement of police, so as to protect and safeguard the legitimate interests of racial minorities." Both state media and individual officials criticized the United States government and accused it of hypocrisy. For instance, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused the United States government of having a 'double standard' for labeling the U.S. protesters disappointed with racism as rioters while glorifying the Hong Kong protesters as heroes, and for shooting U.S. protesters and mobilizing the National Guard but criticizing the Hong Kong police.
  • Hong Kong – Chief Executive Carrie Lam decried what she perceived as a 'double standard' in America's reaction to protests in Hong Kong and their protests at home. Student activist Joshua Wong offered his solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Germany – Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter that the peaceful protests in the United States following the death of George Floyd are "understandable and more than legitimate." and that peaceful protests must always be allowed.
• Ghana – President Nana Akufo-Addo, saying that "black people the world over were shocked and distraught" by Floyd's killing, expressed his condolences to Floyd's family and his hope that there would be "lasting change" in how America "confronts the problems of hate and racism".
• Iran – On May 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned "the tragic murder of black people and deadly racial discrimination in the United States." It added that "the voices of the protesters must be heard ... (and) the repression of suffering Americans must be stopped immediately." On June 1, a Ministry spokesman said at a news conference, speaking in English: "To the American officials and police: stop violence against your people and let them breathe." The Twitter account of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also tweeted in English, "If you're dark-skinned walking in the US, you can't be sure you'll be alive in the next few minutes... Racial discrimination is still a dilemma in a country that claims to support freedom and human rights #Black_Lives_Matter".
• Russia – The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the police violence and arrest of journalists amid the protests, remarking that "this incident is not the first in the string of incidents exposing lawlessness and unjustified violence by ‘guardians of law and order’ in the United States".
• Turkey – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a "racist and fascist" approach led to Floyd's death and said that "[we] will be monitoring the issue."
• United Kingdom – The Foreign Office reacted to the arrest of a journalist and said that "journalists all around the world must be free to do their job and hold authorities to account without fear of retribution." Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab commented that the footage of Floyd's arrest was "very distressing" but said that it is "not his job" to comment on the U.S. President's response to the protests.
• Venezuela – Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza condemned the "prejudiced language" used by Donald Trump in describing the protesters.
• Zimbabwe – The government of Zimbabwe summoned Brian A. Nichols, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, to a meeting over remarks by White House official Robert C. O'Brien that Zimbabwe is a "foreign adversary" that could face retaliation for "fomenting" the protests.

Organizations

• United Nations – UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned the death at the hands of police, urging American authorities to take "serious action" to stop the killings of unarmed minorities.
• African Union – Head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, described Floyd's death as a "murder," stating that the African Union condemned the "continuing discriminatory practices against black citizens of the USA."
• Amnesty International – The organization released a press release statement calling the police in the United States to end excessive militarized responses to the protests. It also called on the UK to review exports of security equipment, including tear gas or rubber bullets, to US police forces.
• European Union – EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell stated that the EU is "shocked and appalled" by Floyd's death and attributed it to "abuse of power" by law enforcement. He also warned against further "excessive use of force".

Gallery

• 
  A fire burns at maX it PAWN in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 
  Firefighters observing the damage in Minneapolis the afternoon of May 28, 2020
• 
  "Black Lives Fucking Matter" and "Fuck 12" graffiti on a looted Target store in Lake Street, Minneapolis, the morning of May 28, 2020
• 
  Protests in Columbus, Ohio, on May 28, 2020
• 
  Downtown Indianapolis on May 29, 2020
• 
  Protest at the US embassy in Berlin on May 30, 2020
• Commencement of a march in Brooklyn, New York, on May 30, 2020
• 
  SWAT units impose a curfew across Charleston County, South Carolina, on May 31, 2020

See also

• 1965 Watts riots – A black motorist resisting arrest ignited days of widespread violence fueled by decades of institutional racism.
• 1980 Miami riots – Protests after an unarmed black salesman with a fractured skull was beaten to death by police officers in 1979 and the officers involved were acquitted in May 1980.
• 1992 Los Angeles riots – Protests after police officers involved in the beating of Rodney King, a black man, were acquitted by the court in April 1992.
• 2014 Ferguson unrest – The large-scale unrest after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police.
• 2015 Baltimore protests – Protests following the arrest and subsequent death of Freddie Gray.

Further reading

• Sprunt, Barbara. The History Behind 'When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts' NPR. May 29, 2020
• Owen, Tess. Far-Right Extremists Are Hoping to Turn the George Floyd Protests Into a New Civil War. Vice. May 29, 2020
• Hartman, Sid. Unrest in Minneapolis echoes summer of 1967. Star Tribune. May 30, 2020
• George Floyd Protesters in Multiple Cities Target Confederate Monuments. AP/Time. May 31, 2020
• Pellerin, Ananda. The people creating art to remember George Floyd. CNN Style. June 1, 2020

External links

• George Floyd protest tag, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
• Running list of hoaxs and misleading posts, BuzzFeed News