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| D.C. braces for third day of protests and clashes over death of George Floyd | D.C. braces for third day of protests and clashes over death of George Floyd |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Officials braced Sunday for a third day of protests over the killing of George Floyd by police, following clashes Saturday between U.S. Secret Service, Park Police and D.C. police in the nation’s capital and confrontations across Virginia and Maryland between law enforcement and activists decrying police brutality. | |
| Hundreds of people mobilized by a teenage activist who shared a flier on social media gathered near Howard University early Sunday afternoon. They set off for the White House in a march that filled two blocks of Georgia Avenue. | |
| “We are the face of this movement,” organizer Aly Conyers, 17, told the group before the set out. “We are the face of this generation. We will not let this stand. Enough is enough.” | |
| Saturday’s demonstrations began in the morning, when a few dozen people congregated near the White House, with the numbers protesting growing throughout the day. As night fell, protesters confronted armored police, who used tear gas to try to control the crowds. | Saturday’s demonstrations began in the morning, when a few dozen people congregated near the White House, with the numbers protesting growing throughout the day. As night fell, protesters confronted armored police, who used tear gas to try to control the crowds. |
| At one point, nearly 1,000 protesters circled the perimeter of the White House grounds, which was fortified with law enforcement vehicles, metal barriers and rows of armored Secret Service, D.C. police and U.S. Park Police. | At one point, nearly 1,000 protesters circled the perimeter of the White House grounds, which was fortified with law enforcement vehicles, metal barriers and rows of armored Secret Service, D.C. police and U.S. Park Police. |
| Unable to reach the White House itself, the protesters broke into smaller groups and scattered throughout downtown, with handfuls of people remaining on the streets until early Sunday morning. A few store windows were smashed and fires set. | Unable to reach the White House itself, the protesters broke into smaller groups and scattered throughout downtown, with handfuls of people remaining on the streets until early Sunday morning. A few store windows were smashed and fires set. |
| D.C. police said 17 people, mostly local, were arrested. U.S. Secret Service and Park Police said they each arrested one person. | |
| Tension between police and protesters flares in front of the White House before vandalism and sporadic fires | Tension between police and protesters flares in front of the White House before vandalism and sporadic fires |
| D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Sunday morning that crews were out cleaning up and that law enforcement would be working to try to keep the city calm. | D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Sunday morning that crews were out cleaning up and that law enforcement would be working to try to keep the city calm. |
| “We’re sending a very clear message to people that they have a right to exercise their First Amendment rights but not to destroy our city,” Bowser said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” “We saw a level of destruction and mayhem among some that was maddening.” | “We’re sending a very clear message to people that they have a right to exercise their First Amendment rights but not to destroy our city,” Bowser said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” “We saw a level of destruction and mayhem among some that was maddening.” |
| Cities nationwide have seen protests and unrest in the days since a viral video showed white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed black man, Floyd, who was crying that he could not breathe and later died. Chauvin has been charged with murder. He and three other officers also were fired. | Cities nationwide have seen protests and unrest in the days since a viral video showed white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed black man, Floyd, who was crying that he could not breathe and later died. Chauvin has been charged with murder. He and three other officers also were fired. |
| A third day of protests also began in Richmond, with hundreds of people gathering downtown to listen to speeches. | |
| The city’s mayor, Levar M. Stoney (D), announced earlier Sunday that Richmond would join dozens of others nationwide in imposing a curfew, beginning at 8 p.m., following two nights of protests there. Stoney said the curfew was an effort to prevent further violence after a night of mayhem that he and the city’s police chief said was provoked by “outside actors.” | |
| “We have done a good job in practicing restraint over the last 48 hours,” Stoney said, “but the curfew is necessary because there are some bad actors who are just not complying at all.” | “We have done a good job in practicing restraint over the last 48 hours,” Stoney said, “but the curfew is necessary because there are some bad actors who are just not complying at all.” |
| A night of fire and fury across America as protests intensify | A night of fire and fury across America as protests intensify |
| The protests in Washington have triggered a particularly angry response from President Trump, who faulted local leaders’ response. Bowser, in turn, has blamed Trump for stoking divisions, saying he had “glorified violence.” | The protests in Washington have triggered a particularly angry response from President Trump, who faulted local leaders’ response. Bowser, in turn, has blamed Trump for stoking divisions, saying he had “glorified violence.” |
| Bowser returned to that refrain during her television appearance Sunday. | Bowser returned to that refrain during her television appearance Sunday. |
| “I think the president has a responsibility to calm the nation,” she said. “He can start by not sending divisive tweets that are meant to hearken to the segregationist past of our country.” | “I think the president has a responsibility to calm the nation,” she said. “He can start by not sending divisive tweets that are meant to hearken to the segregationist past of our country.” |
| Bowser was referring to the president tweeting “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a phrase infamously used by a Miami police chief during racial unrest in the 1960s. Bowser generally refrains from intense criticism of Trump, but his response to nationwide protests has prompted some of her toughest comments yet. | Bowser was referring to the president tweeting “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a phrase infamously used by a Miami police chief during racial unrest in the 1960s. Bowser generally refrains from intense criticism of Trump, but his response to nationwide protests has prompted some of her toughest comments yet. |
| “What you see in cities across our nation is what we saw last night: People who are angry and people who are hurt, and some not doing it in ways that are helpful to our cause, but we still have to acknowledge that hurt and that anger,” Bowser said. | “What you see in cities across our nation is what we saw last night: People who are angry and people who are hurt, and some not doing it in ways that are helpful to our cause, but we still have to acknowledge that hurt and that anger,” Bowser said. |
| Like other city leaders, Bowser has tried to strike a balance of criticizing violent elements of protests while offering empathy to broader goals of ending discrimination and police brutality. | Like other city leaders, Bowser has tried to strike a balance of criticizing violent elements of protests while offering empathy to broader goals of ending discrimination and police brutality. |
| ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’: Trump quotes Miami police chief’s notorious 1967 warning | ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’: Trump quotes Miami police chief’s notorious 1967 warning |
| Bowser’s criticism of Trump was echoed by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a prominent Republican who has clashed with the president in recent weeks over the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. Hogan said he worked to “lower the temperature” during the 2015 protests in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, a tack he said Trump had failed to take. | |
| “It’s just the opposite of the message that should have been coming out of the White House,” Hogan said Sunday, on CNN’s “State of the Union.” | “It’s just the opposite of the message that should have been coming out of the White House,” Hogan said Sunday, on CNN’s “State of the Union.” |
| Gray suffered a fatal injury in the back of a Baltimore police van, sparking protests that briefly turned violent. Gray’s death prompted a Justice Department review that led to a scathing report documenting racist and brutal policing of the city’s black community and a reform order overseen by a federal judge. | Gray suffered a fatal injury in the back of a Baltimore police van, sparking protests that briefly turned violent. Gray’s death prompted a Justice Department review that led to a scathing report documenting racist and brutal policing of the city’s black community and a reform order overseen by a federal judge. |
| On television Sunday, Hogan did not give a direct answer to CNN host Jake Tapper’s question of whether systemic racism is a problem in law enforcement. | On television Sunday, Hogan did not give a direct answer to CNN host Jake Tapper’s question of whether systemic racism is a problem in law enforcement. |
| “We’ve got issues that have to be addressed, and it’s a conversation we need to continue to have,” Hogan said. “There certainly are some issues and problems.” | “We’ve got issues that have to be addressed, and it’s a conversation we need to continue to have,” Hogan said. “There certainly are some issues and problems.” |
| The protests have taken place against the backdrop of the deadly pandemic, and a flier announcing Sunday’s protest bore a picture of a face mask. But demonstrators have all but abandoned notions of social distancing designed to slow the disease’s spread. | The protests have taken place against the backdrop of the deadly pandemic, and a flier announcing Sunday’s protest bore a picture of a face mask. But demonstrators have all but abandoned notions of social distancing designed to slow the disease’s spread. |
| The District this week began taking the first tentative steps toward reopening, with the Maryland suburbs following, but Hogan and Bowser both said they were worried that the protests could lead to a spike in cases in coming days. | The District this week began taking the first tentative steps toward reopening, with the Maryland suburbs following, but Hogan and Bowser both said they were worried that the protests could lead to a spike in cases in coming days. |
| “I’m concerned that we have mass gatherings in our streets after we just lifted a stay-at-home order,” Bowser said. “I’m urging everybody to consider their exposure, if they need to be isolated from their families when they come home and if they need to be tested.” | “I’m concerned that we have mass gatherings in our streets after we just lifted a stay-at-home order,” Bowser said. “I’m urging everybody to consider their exposure, if they need to be isolated from their families when they come home and if they need to be tested.” |
| At a news conference, Bowser said she would not be imposing a curfew because people predisposed to violence would not be likely to obey one. D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham blamed the violence and vandalism on a small group and said his officers were prepared to handle any further unrest. | |
| Newsham said he welcomed peaceful demonstrations but “we can’t have people coming into our city who are going to destroy property or hurt people.” | |
| On Saturday, D.C. National Guard units reinforced police, as authorities used batons and pepper-spray projectiles to corral the crowds. Protesters launched fireworks and threw bottles. | On Saturday, D.C. National Guard units reinforced police, as authorities used batons and pepper-spray projectiles to corral the crowds. Protesters launched fireworks and threw bottles. |
| As fear settles over Minneapolis, protests and violent clashes spread across the U.S. | As fear settles over Minneapolis, protests and violent clashes spread across the U.S. |
| At least one of the business owners whose property was damaged said she bore no ill will toward the protesters. | |
| It was just after midnight and Michelle Brown’s restaurant near the White House, Teaism, was on fire. Brown, still in pajamas, grabbed her hand sanitizer and car keys to go check out the damage. Before she left she fired off a tweet. | |
| “Before anyone puts a single word in our mouths. Black lives matter,” she wrote. | |
| Brown would soon learn that protestors had destroyed her 20-year old tea chest and that her beloved art work was engulfed in flames. Police prohibited her from entering her restaurant in the middle of the night, but hours later she would return to find her shop ashy and unrecognizable. | |
| “It was heartbreaking,” Brown said. “But this moment is not about us.” | |
| Brown said she wants her customers to stay focused on the intense suffering that is sweeping the country instead of the damage done to her restaurant, which she says will recover in time. | |
| “Any kind of issue like this seems pretty minor,” she said. “We have been through three months of being closed, we have seen 100,000 people die,” she said referring to the pandemic and shut down. “I think the protest are great and I think they are warranted.” | |
| In the early hours of Sunday, a few people lingered on the streets and smashed some store windows, set fire to a shrubbery, and toppled a portable toilet and a lion statue. A CVS, an optometrist’s office, a liquor store and an Indian restaurant a few blocks from the White House were looted. | In the early hours of Sunday, a few people lingered on the streets and smashed some store windows, set fire to a shrubbery, and toppled a portable toilet and a lion statue. A CVS, an optometrist’s office, a liquor store and an Indian restaurant a few blocks from the White House were looted. |
| Newsham said 11 of his officers were injured, including one who suffered a serious compound leg fracture after being hit by a brick; 29 department vehicles were damaged. The Secret Service said in a statement that 60 of its officers and agents had been injured in the two days of protests. | |
| Around the region, there were also protests and clashes in Richmond and Baltimore. In Richmond, demonstrators targeted Confederate monuments erected to honor proslavery leaders in the Civil War. They painted graffiti on a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee, and hung a noose over the shoulder of a statute of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. | Around the region, there were also protests and clashes in Richmond and Baltimore. In Richmond, demonstrators targeted Confederate monuments erected to honor proslavery leaders in the Civil War. They painted graffiti on a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee, and hung a noose over the shoulder of a statute of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. |
| The headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy — the group that led the construction of most of the statues a century ago — was damaged by fire. | The headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy — the group that led the construction of most of the statues a century ago — was damaged by fire. |
| Photos on social media showed black smoke marks above at least one window of the low marble building along Arthur Ashe Boulevard, and adjacent to the Kehinde Wiley statue of a black man on a horse unveiled last year. That statue seemed to have been left unmarked. | Photos on social media showed black smoke marks above at least one window of the low marble building along Arthur Ashe Boulevard, and adjacent to the Kehinde Wiley statue of a black man on a horse unveiled last year. That statue seemed to have been left unmarked. |
| Social media also featured blurry images of a group of white people who had broken windows at a synagogue across the street, with claims that the group was espousing a far-right ideology of “boogaloo,” or race war. | Social media also featured blurry images of a group of white people who had broken windows at a synagogue across the street, with claims that the group was espousing a far-right ideology of “boogaloo,” or race war. |
| Along Broad Street near the State Capitol, windows were smashed at many stores and dumpsters set on fire. One dumpster fire at Virginia Commonwealth University briefly spread into a high-rise dormitory, but city officials reported little internal damage to the building. | Along Broad Street near the State Capitol, windows were smashed at many stores and dumpsters set on fire. One dumpster fire at Virginia Commonwealth University briefly spread into a high-rise dormitory, but city officials reported little internal damage to the building. |
| Richmond Police Chief William C. Smith attributed much of the violence from Saturday night and early Sunday, as well as less-severe incidents from Friday night, to “people from outside this state and outside this area. And we’re doing our best to identify them,” he said. | Richmond Police Chief William C. Smith attributed much of the violence from Saturday night and early Sunday, as well as less-severe incidents from Friday night, to “people from outside this state and outside this area. And we’re doing our best to identify them,” he said. |
| Prince William County police said five people were Saturday after what started as a peaceful protest turned unruly group of about 250. According to police, the demonstration began about 5 p.m. in Manassas. The group increased significantly and proceeded into Sudley Road, stopping traffic and throwing objects at motorists and police officers, according to a news release. Some protesters were also observed standing on top of vehicles that were stopped in traffic because of the protest and atop area businesses. | |
| Officers from the county sheriff’s office, Manassas City, Fairfax County, and Haymarket were called in to assist and the crowd was dispersed about 1 a.m. Sunday. Four officers were injured, the department said in a statement, including one who suffered a head injury that required treatment at the hospital. | |
| The Prince William Board of County Supervisors planned an emergency meeting for late Sunday afternoon to discuss the events. | |
| Emily Davies, Justin George and Peter Hermann contributed to this report. |