Civil Unrest

Sen. Tom Cotton writes in the New York Times: These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives. Many poor communities that still bear scars from past upheavals will be set back still further. One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show …

The Associated Press reports: Active-duty troops brought in to help if needed with the civil unrest in the nation’s capitol are beginning to return to their home base, after two days of more peaceful demonstrations in Washington, D.C., senior defense officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The active-duty troops were available, but were not used in response to the …

Buzzfeed News reports: The Drug Enforcement Administration has been granted sweeping new authority to “conduct covert surveillance” and collect intelligence on people participating in protests over the police killing of George Floyd, according to a two-page memorandum obtained by BuzzFeed News. Floyd’s death “has spawned widespread protests across the nation, which, in some instances, have included violence and looting,” the …

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms writes: I frantically screamed into the phone to my teenage son: “Lance, WHERE ARE YOU?!” Social media posts were swirling that protests were being planned in Atlanta in response to the death of George Floyd, a black Minnesotan, while a police officer knelt on his neck. Although as mayor, the chief of police reports to me, …

The New York Times reports: The billowing clouds of tear gas that the authorities are sending through protest crowds across the United States may increase the risk that the coronavirus could spread through the gatherings. Along with the immediate pain that can cause watering eyes and burning throats, tear gas may cause damage to people’s lungs and make them more …

Reuters reports: In his first public remarks on the U.S. protests, Pope Francis urged people not to “tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form” and called for “national reconciliation and peace.” “Dear brothers and sisters in the United States, I have witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest in your nation in these …

The New York Times reports: After a day in which he berated “weak” governors and lectured them to “dominate” the demonstrators, the president emerged from the White House, followed by a phalanx of aides and Secret Service agents as he made his way to the church, where he posed stern-faced, holding up a Bible that his daughter pulled out of …

Politico reports: There will likely be a new rash of coronavirus cases following widespread protests this weekend over racism and the death of George Floyd — but people’s concerns need to be heard, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in an interview. “I remain concerned about the public health consequences both of individual and institutional racism [and] people out protesting in …

The Insider reports: A 35-year-old truck driver accused of driving aggressively past peaceful protesters on Sunday in Minneapolis was released from jail on Tuesday. The truck driver, Bogdan Vechirko, was not charged with a crime. A statement by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said investigators were still “gathering additional information and answers to aid in the charging decision.” His arrest …

“On behalf of the police chiefs in this country, if you don’t have anything constructive to say, keep your mouth shut. Because you’re putting men and women in their early 20s at risk. “It’s not about dominating, it’s about winning hearts and minds. And let’s be clear, we do not want people to confuse kindness with weakness, but we do …

From former President George W. Bush: Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America …

Minneapolis’s ABC News affiliate reports: The state of Minnesota filed a human rights complaint Tuesday against the Minneapolis Police Department in the death of George Floyd by an officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for minutes, even after he stopped moving. Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced the filing at a news conference …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William P. Barr ordered law enforcement officials on the ground to extend the perimeter around Lafayette Square, which is adjacent to the White House, just before President Trump spoke Monday, a Justice Department official said. According to two federal law enforcement officials, the decision had been made late Sunday night or early Monday morning …

The New York Daily News reports: Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday the NYPD and Mayor de Blasio must “do a better job” at curbing looting and widespread chaos erupting amid civil unrest over police brutality against African-Americans. “The police in New York City were not effective at doing their job last night. Period,” the governor said during a press briefing in …

The Independent reports: President Donald Trump’s daughter Tiffany Trump joined the Black Lives Matter Instagram blackout on Tuesday amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd. On her Instagram post, Trump also attached a quote from Helen Keller and the hashtags “#blackoutTuesday” and “#justiceforgeorgefloyd.” The blackout posts “are intended as a way of expressing solidarity with the Black Lives …

AM New York reports: New York Attorney General James did not mince words when threatening legal action against President Trump, whose address to the nation Monday included warnings of military deployment to quell the protests that have risen from the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police. “The President of the United States is not a dictator, and President Trump …

Reuters reports: A Twitter account that tweeted a call to violence and claimed to be representing the position of “Antifa” was in fact created by a known white supremacist group, Twitter said Monday. The company removed the account. The fake account, @ANTIFA_US, tweeted Sunday, “ALERT Tonight’s the night, Comrades Tonight we say “F**k The City” and we move into the …

The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump visited a D.C. shrine honoring Pope John Paul II on Tuesday, a day after his appearance in front of an Episcopal church across from the White House set off a controversy because it involved aggressively clearing peaceful protesters. In a statement Tuesday morning as the president was arriving, Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory slammed …

CNN reports: The President has tweeted about last night’s protests in New York after a night of unrest and widespread looting. “New York was lost to the looters, thugs, Radical Left, and all others forms of Lowlife & Scum. The Governor refuses to accept my offer of a dominating National Guard. NYC was ripped to pieces,” he tweeted. On Monday, …

Mediaite reports: On Monday, police and National Guard troops descended on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park in order to clear the way for Trump to stroll over to St. John’s Episcopal Church so he could pose with a Bible like it was some award from a group he’d never heard of but was still willing to accept an award from …