Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of major U. S. cities on Tuesday for an eighth consecutive night of protests over the death of a black man in police custody, defying pleas by mayors, strict curfews and other measures meant to curtail them.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of major U. S. cities on Tuesday for an eighth consecutive night of protests over the death of a black man in police custody, defying pleas by mayors, strict curfews and other measures meant to curtail them.
Major marches took place in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta and New York City as well as in Washington, D. C., near the park where demonstrators were cleared on Monday to make a path for President Donald Trump so he could walk from the White House to a historic church for a photo.
Although rallies on behalf of Floyd and other victims of police brutality have been largely peaceful during the day, after dark each night crowds have turned to rioting, vandalism, arson and looting. On Monday night, five police officers were hit by gunfire in two cities.
Outside the U. S. Capitol building on Tuesday afternoon a throng took to one knee, chanting “silence is violence” and “no justice, no peace,” as officers faced them just before the government-imposed curfew.
The crowd remained in Lafayette park and elsewhere in the capitol after dark, despite the curfew and vows by Trump to crack down on what he has called lawlessness by “hoodlums” and “thugs,” using National Guard or even the U. S. military if necessary.
After the curfew began in New York City, thousands of chanting and cheering protesters marched from the Barclays Center down Flatbush toward the Brooklyn Bridge as police helicopters whirred overheard.
