Civil Unrest

The Guardian reports: Ivanka Trump has hit out at “cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination” after plans for her to give a virtual commencement speech to students in Kansas were canceled amid criticism of Donald Trump’s response to anti-police brutality protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. The move clearly angered Ivanka Trump, who is a top adviser …

The Associated Press reports: Facebook has removed nearly 200 social media accounts linked to white supremacy groups that planned to encourage members to attend protests over police killings of black people — in some cases with weapons, company officials said Friday. The accounts on Facebook and Instagram were tied to the Proud Boys and the American Guard, two hate groups …

The Washington Post reports: The Pentagon has told the District of Columbia National Guard and guardsmen from other states who have arrived in the nation’s capital as backup not to use firearms or ammunition, a sign of de-escalation in the federal response to protests in the city after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to officials familiar with …

NBC New York reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio said he won’t remove New York City’s nightly curfew before Monday morning as its effectiveness is being questioned as thousands of protesters stay out past 8 p.m. and police officers continue to arrest essential workers even as the mayor says those employees are exempt. Several New York City council members have called …

Politico reports: President Trump on Friday sharply rebuked Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), calling her “incompetent” after she demanded he withdraw military personnel and federal law enforcement from the district amid ongoing protests against the police killing of George Floyd. The administration has withstood scrutiny after law enforcement forcefully cleared peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square on Monday before Trump …

The Hill reports: Washington, D.C., is painting large yellow letters spelling out “Black Lives Matter” on a major road leading to the White House Friday. The letters span two blocks of 16th Street NW in the nation’s capital and take up the width of the two-lane road. Painters started on the project early Friday morning after being contacted by Washington, …

Axios reports: Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser formally requested in a letter dated Thursday that President Trump remove “all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence” in place due to the protests over the killing of George Floyd from the city. The big picture: Tensions between protesters and law enforcement in the capital have died down this week, with the …

“Who is attacking us? Mr. Esper should know this. It’s antifa. Department of Justice, NYPD, others are saying this very clearly. These are people, by the way, that we faced back in 1960’s, 70’s, and early 80’s. “These were people who were far leftists, Marx, Lenin, folks who embraced that ideology. They’ve allied with Black Panther movement and it took …

The Indianapolis Star reports: The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the actions of several officers captured on video using batons and pepper balls to subdue a woman on a downtown sidewalk Sunday night, a spokeswoman said. The video, shared widely on Twitter and Facebook, recorded what happened to two women arrested by officers at the corner of North Pennsylvania …

The Insider reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday night shared a letter on Twitter in which his former attorney described protesters peacefully demonstrating against racism outside the White House as “terrorists.” Trump’s former attorney John Dowd in the letter is describing the protesters who were dispersed from Lafayette Park outside the White House on Monday by police using rubber bullets …

The Associated Press reports: The area around the White House complex, including all of Lafayette Park, will remain closed to the public until June 10 due to ongoing protests, a Secret Service spokesperson said Thursday. The entire Ellipse on the south end of the White House, E Street and its sidewalks between 15th and 17th streets, Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th …

Buzzfeed News reports: The DC chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing federal law enforcement officers of violating the constitutional rights of peaceful demonstrators who were forcibly cleared from a park north of the White House so President Donald Trump could walk through for a photo op earlier this week. The lawsuit accused officers …

Mediaite reports: “For Jim Mattis to have his head in the sand is, quite frankly, appalling,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in an interview with Fox News’ Ed Henry. “This president is trying to unite a country. He has. He’s talked about the death of George Floyd and how sobering and sad he was when he saw the video, …

USA Today reports: On Thursday, the focus is expected to return to the life George Floyd led when he is memorialized at Minneapolis’ North Central University, an event that will include a “national eulogy” by the Rev. Al Sharpton and a “national criminal justice system address” by Floyd family attorney Ben Crump. The tribute will continue Saturday in Raeford, North …

Via email from the Trump campaign: When you become a member of the Trump Army today, we’ll give you access to our never-before-seen Limited Edition Camo Keep America Great Hat. The President wants YOU and every member of our exclusive Trump Army to have something to identify yourselves with, and to let everybody know that YOU are the President’s first …

Posted to the website of the US Army: Over the past week, the country has suffered an explosion of frustration over the racial divisions that still plague us as Americans. And because your Army is a reflection of American society, those divisions live in the Army as well. We feel the frustration and anger. We felt it this week while …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted Wednesday night to sever its longtime relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department, adding to the list of organizations that have cut ties with the local police following the death of George Floyd at the hands of its officers. The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Public Schools, museums and venues have …

The Washington Post reports: Staffers at the New York Times are publicly rebuking their own newspaper for publishing an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), which called for military intervention into American cities where protests over George Floyd’s death have led to further unrest. The backlash, which spilled out on Twitter, came from dozens across the organization and included opinion …

The Associated Press reports: Demonstrations in cities across the U.S. to condemn racism and police abuses remained large but turned notably more subdued on the eve of a Thursday memorial service for George Floyd that kicks off a series of events to mourn the man whose death empowered a national movement. The calmer protests came on the same day that …

The Associated Press reports: Three Nevada men with ties to a loose movement of right-wing extremists advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government have been arrested on terrorism-related charges in what authorities say was a conspiracy to spark violence during recent protests in Las Vegas. Federal prosecutors say the three white men with U.S. military experience are accused of conspiring …