June 1 George Floyd protest news

By Jessie Yeung, Steve George, Nick Thompson, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes and Daniella Diaz, CNN

Updated 2:10 a.m. ET, June 2, 2020
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2:18 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

George Floyd's brother calls for peaceful protests

George Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd.
George Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd. Source: WCCO

George Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd, called for peace while speaking today from the site where his brother was killed in Minneapolis.

To violent agitators who Floyd said are "wildlin' out" and "blowing up stuff" he asked "what are y'all doing?" He added, "that's not going to bring my brother back at all."

He said his family is "peaceful" and "god-fearing." He called on protesters to "do this another way" and vote.

"Educate yourself, and know who you're voting for. That's how we're going to hit them...Let's switch it up."

WATCH:

2:11 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Floyd family friend: "Don't stop protesting, but throw up the peace sign"

Rev. Kevin McCall.
Rev. Kevin McCall. Source: WCCO

Rev. Kevin McCall, who traveled with George Floyd's brother to Minneapolis from Brooklyn, said the Floyd family is urging demonstrators to keep protesting — but do it peacefully.

"The family has called for peace. The family has called for peace. The family has called for peace," McCall chanted at the memorial site.

"We're sending a message to people all over this country to stop looting. Lift up the peace sign," he added. "The power is in the numbers. Don't stop protesting, but throw up the peace sign."

2:11 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Protesters kneel as George Floyd's brother arrives at memorial site in Minneapolis

George Floyd's brother visits a memorial site in Minneapolis on June 1.
George Floyd's brother visits a memorial site in Minneapolis on June 1. WCCO/CNN

The brother of George Floyd arrived earlier this afternoon at the Minneapolis memorial site and nearly collapsed, CNN's Sara Sidner reports.

Sidner said that Floyd's brother "collapsed in his friend's arms as he tried to make his way to the spot where George Floyd lost his life." 

She continued: "He was barely able to walk. He had to have two people on either side of him holding him up as he tried to make his way to the spot."

Floyd's brother was surrounded by a large crowd that was "peaceful and respectful," Sidner said.

WATCH:

1:51 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

More than 17,000 National Guard members activated for civil unrest response

From CNN's Ryan Browne

California National Guard soldiers walk in a parking lot after people protested in Los Angeles on May 31.
California National Guard soldiers walk in a parking lot after people protested in Los Angeles on May 31. Agustin Paullier/AFP/Getty Images

About 66,700 National Guard soldiers and airmen have been activated across the entire country to assist in the civil unrest and coronavirus response.  

That number is as of this morning.

More than 17,000 National Guard members are supporting civil unrest response, which represents approximately the same number of active duty troops deployed in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. 

Additionally, about 45,000 National Guard members are supporting Covid-19 response across all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia.

1:46 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Protesters gather near US embassy in Paris

From Pierre Bairrin and Benjamin Bertau in Paris and Schams Elwazer in London

Protesters hold placards — including two reading "we are all George Floyd" and "racism is suffocating us" — during a demonstration outside the United States Embassy in Paris on June 1.
Protesters hold placards — including two reading "we are all George Floyd" and "racism is suffocating us" — during a demonstration outside the United States Embassy in Paris on June 1. Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

A small crowd of peaceful protesters — representing several French anti-racism organizations — gathered near the US embassy in Paris on Monday in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests in the US.

Protesters wearing black clothing and face masks took a knee and held up signs with the words “I can’t breathe,” “we are all George Floyd” and “racism chokes us.”

Describing the video of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis as "surreal and unbearable," the protest organizers called on anti-racist groups “and all individuals with a sense of justice — to strongly denounce this racist crime perpetrated by the police, which is unfortunately an ordinary crime in the United States.” 

The joint statement – which included endorsements from the historic anti-racism organization "SOS Racisme," journalist Claudy Siar and the Jewish Student Union — said "we fully relate to the struggle of the American people, especially the young, for the advent of a society finally free of racism.”

Referencing similar problems in France, the statement called "for the utmost firmness in France, including at the State level, where acts of racism within the police force have recently been reported."

While the gathering of more than ten people remains technically illegal in France due to coronavirus restrictions, police told the organizers they would not intervene to stop the protest.

1:28 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Atlanta mayor: "My family is full of people who look like George Floyd"

From CNN’s Mallory Simon

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks in Atlanta on May 30.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks in Atlanta on May 30. Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms described the video of George Floyd’s death as a “murder,” and said that watching it “broke” her in an interview with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

“All the feelings that everybody has, it just — it broke me — and for a moment, it was just watching in disbelief. Like, I know I'm not seeing what I see,” Bottoms said. “And I think for as horrific as it was watching the officer with his knee on his neck, what was more disturbing was watching the other officer not do anything about it.” 

The Atlanta mayor said she watched in disbelief as one officer did nothing to help while trying to keep bystanders away.

“I kept looking at the other officer’s face, looking to see something, looking to see something in his face that showed he wanted to help or that he had some concerns. But, I just saw emptiness,” Bottoms said. “The only thing he was concerned about was making sure that the bystanders who were pleading for Mr. Floyd's life didn't get any closer to interfere with his murder.”

Bottoms, a former judge and city council member, was sworn in as mayor in 2018 and has quickly emerged as one of the Democratic Party's rising stars. On Friday night, amid a swirl of increasingly tense and occasionally violent scenes, she faced the cameras, her constituents and the country.

During an interview for tomorrow’s episode of Gupta’s podcast, “Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction,” Bottoms said that she didn’t know what she was going to say when she faced cameras, and that she had to re-watch it at home to see what she said. Bottoms said she is trying to strike the right balance of recognizing the movement that is happening while also trying to keep law and order in her city as it experienced riots.

“This has been a really tough balance because I feel helpless. I feel angry. I feel frustrated,” Bottoms said. “But the balance to that, I know that there are men and women who put on a uniform every day who love and care about our community. And they do it for all the right reasons. And that's the vast majority of our police officers in our city at least think they do it with a good heart and with good intentions.”

Bottoms talked about why she feels so passionate and emotional about the struggles of black America, based on her own life experiences. 

“My family is full of people who look like George Floyd, and my dad went to prison and everything about my life changed in that moment. And everything that I thought was solid and true disappeared in the blink of an eye,” she said. “And I think that's why I have I have so many sensitivities related to our struggle as an African-American community, because I know many of the things that you see play out that some people try and paint as being for lack of trying or whatever — the negative stereotypes you put on us — in each and every day. Our community is full of people who get up and want to do better, and they want to get it right and they don't ever stop trying.”

Bottoms also reinforced that the city needs to remember they are in the middle of a pandemic — one that is impacting the black community in so many ways.

“Our communities are sick and they're tired and they're dying. They're dying from Covid-19, they're dying from poverty, they're dying from police brutality,” she said. “I think in the midst of all that going on, we focused on what we can see. But we’ve got to keep top of mind the things that we can’t see that are killing us too.”

1:40 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Thousands gather in Amsterdam to protest police violence

From Mick Krever in London

People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on June 1.
People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on June 1. Peter Dejong/AP

Several thousand people gathered in Amsterdam’s Dam Square Monday to protest against police violence and in solidarity with demonstrations across the US. 

“Institutionally racist violence against black people is a problem that also occurs in The Netherlands and the rest of Europe,” the organizers said in a statement, according to CNN affiliate and national broadcaster NOS.

According to NOS, the protests were organized by Kick Out Black Pete, a reference to the Dutch Christmas tradition of dressing up in blackface, and Black Queer & Trans Resistance Netherlands.

There were around 3,000 participants, according to another CNN affiliate, RTL News. An RTL correspondent on the scene reported seeing signs including “black lives matter” and “the future is colored.”

RTL said that the crowd held two minutes of silence, and reported a relatively small police presence.

1:34 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

Santa Monica police arrested more than 400 people last night

From CNN's Stella Chan

Police arrest people during demonstrations in Santa Monica, California, on May 31.
Police arrest people during demonstrations in Santa Monica, California, on May 31. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Police in Santa Monica, California arrested more than 400 people last night, the department tweeted today.

Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said 95% of those arrested reside outside the city, according to a tweet.

Santa Monica has implemented a 1 p.m. curfew for the business district and 4 p.m. curfew for the rest of the city.

Read the tweets:

1:08 p.m. ET, June 1, 2020

DC police arrested 88 people last night in protests

From CNN's Lauren Koenig and Alex Marquardt

There were 88 arrests made in connection to protests throughout the District of Columbia last night, Washington, DC, Police Chief Peter Newsham announced at a news conference Monday morning. 

Of those 88 arrests, 44 people were charged with felony rioting, "a number" were charged with burglary and two-thirds of the arrests were instances of felonies. Many were arrested for violating the curfew, officials said.

Newsham said that the Metropolitan Police Department is not done making arrests and is offering rewards of up to $1,000 for people who can help identify individuals in images released by the police department.

Seven MPD officers have been injured during the protests but none had injuries severe enough to require hospitalization, the chief said. Nine MPD vehicles have been damaged.

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a two-day curfew beginning at 7 p.m. Monday.  

Newsham warned that if people are caught breaking that curfew they will be taken into custody by local or federal police.

He said that most of the “skirmishes” have been small and manageable, adding that the antagonists “appear to be organized in nature.”