Peace, not troops, marked Tuesday's George Floyd protests
Protests across the U.S. continued in response to George Floyd's death. But many marches were largely without incident as cities intensified curfews and called on citizens to maintain peace.
People gathered in Foley Square in New York on June 2, 2020 to protest police brutality. Protests across the country last night were largely peaceful for the first time in days since George Floyd died in police custody on March 25.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
Washington
Protests were largely peaceful and the nation's streets were calmer than they have been in days since the killing of George Floyd set off sometimes violent demonstrations against police brutality and injustice against African Americans.
An earlier curfew and efforts by protesters to contain the violence prevented more widespread damage to businesses in New York City overnight. As of Wednesday morning, arrests grew to more than 9,000 nationwide since the unrest began in response to Mr. Floyd's death May 25 in Minneapolis.
There was a marked quiet compared with the unrest of the past few nights, which included fires and shootings in some cities. Many cities intensified their curfews, with authorities in Washington also ordering people off streets before sundown.
A block away from the White House, thousands of demonstrators massed following a crackdown a day earlier when officers on foot and horseback aggressively drove peaceful protesters away from Lafayette Park, clearing the way for President Donald Trump to do a photo op at nearby St. John鈥檚 Church. Tuesday's protesters faced law enforcement personnel who stood behind a black chain-link fence put up overnight to block access to the park.
鈥淟ast night pushed me way over the edge,鈥� said Jessica DeMaio of Washington, who attended a Floyd protest Tuesday for the first time. 鈥淏eing here is better than being at home feeling helpless.鈥�
Pastors at the church prayed with demonstrators and handed out water bottles. The crowd remained in place after the city鈥檚 7 p.m. curfew passed, defying warnings that the response from law enforcement could be even more forceful. But the people were peaceful, even polite. At one point, the crowd booed when a protester climbed a light post and took down a street sign. A chant went up: 鈥淧eaceful protest!鈥�
Pope Francis called for national reconciliation and peace, saying he has 鈥渨itnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest鈥欌�� in the United States in recent days.
"My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life,鈥欌�� the pope said during his weekly Wednesday audience, held in the presence of bishops due to coronavirus restrictions on gatherings.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, amplified his hard-line calls from Monday, when he threatened to send in the military to restore order if governors didn鈥檛 do it.
鈥淣YC, CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD,鈥� he tweeted. 鈥淭he lowlifes and losers are ripping you apart. Act fast!鈥�
Thousands of people remained in the streets of New York City Tuesday night, undeterred by an 8 p.m. curfew, though most streets were clear by early Wednesday. Midtown Manhattan was pocked with battered storefronts after Monday鈥檚 protests.
Protests also passed across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, Miami, St. Paul, Minnesota, Columbia, South Carolina, and Houston, where the police chief talked to peaceful demonstrators, vowing reforms.
鈥淕od as my witness, change is coming,鈥� Art Acevedo said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e going to do it the right way.鈥�
More than 20,000 National Guard members have been called up in 29 states to deal with the violence. Not in New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he does not want the Guard, despite an offer from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
On Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo called what happened in the city Monday night 鈥渁 disgrace.鈥�
鈥淭he NYPD and the mayor did not do their job,鈥� Mr. Cuomo said at a briefing in Albany.
He said his fellow Democrat underestimated the problem, and the nation鈥檚 largest police force was not deployed in sufficient numbers, though the city had said it doubled the usual police presence.
Tuesday marked the eighth straight night of protests that began after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Mr. Floyd's neck while the handcuffed black man called out that he couldn't breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with murder.
The mother of George Floyd鈥檚 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, said she wants the world to know that her little girl lost a good father.
鈥淚 want everybody to know that this is what those officers took,鈥� Roxie Washington said during a Minneapolis news conference, her daughter at her side. 鈥淚 want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good.鈥�
Some protesters framed the burgeoning movement as a necessity after seemingly incessant killings by police.
鈥淚t feels like it鈥檚 just been an endless cascade of hashtags of black people dying, and it feels like nothing鈥檚 really being done by our political leaders to actually enact real change,鈥� said Christine Ohenzuwa who attended a peaceful protest at the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always going to be a breaking point. I think right now, we鈥檙e seeing the breaking point around the country.鈥�
鈥淚 live in this state. It鈥檚 really painful to see what鈥檚 going on, but it鈥檚 also really important to understand that it鈥檚 connected to a system of racial violence,鈥� she said.
Meanwhile, governors and mayors, Republicans and Democrats alike, rejected Mr. Trump's threat to send in the military, with some saying troops would be unnecessary and others questioning whether the government has such authority and warning that such a step would be dangerous.
Such use of the military would mark a stunning federal intervention rarely seen in modern American history.
A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the president is not rushing to deploy the military and that his goal was to pressure governors to deploy more National Guard members.
Nine states and the District of Columbia held presidential primaries on Tuesday, testing the nation鈥檚 ability to run elections while balancing a pandemic and sweeping social unrest. Joe Biden won hundreds more delegates, nearly enough to formally secure the Democratic presidential nomination.
Also Tuesday, Minnesota opened an investigation into whether the Minneapolis Police Department has a pattern of discrimination against minorities.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽Sullivan reported from Minneapolis. AP journalists across the U.S. contributed to this report.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.