JUDY WOODRUFF: Dozens, maybe scores of American cities are bracing for new protests and potentially
new violence tonight, pushing the pandemic out of the headlines.
Outrage over police killings of black people has fueled unrest from coast to coast.
As evening begins here in Washington, police are firing tear gas, deploying flashbangs
to disperse peaceful protests near the White House. Additional National Guard troops have
been called in.
President Trump spoke defiantly in the Rose Garden just moments ago.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Today, I have strongly recommended to every
governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets.
Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence
has been quelled. If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to
defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military
and quickly solve the problem for them.
I am also taking swift and decisive action to protect our great capital, Washington.
JUDY WOODRUFF: President Trump just moments ago.
Our White House correspondent, Yamiche Alcindor, lays out how the day unfolded.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Historic protests, a nation reeling, and an uncertain future ahead. Today,
Americans across the country woke up to burned buildings, shattered storefronts, and walls
littered with graffiti.
PROTESTERS: Say his name!
PROTESTERS: George Floyd!
PROTESTERS: Say his name!
PROTESTERS: George Floyd!
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: This is the aftermath of a weekend filled with some of the largest
demonstrations seen in a generation.
They erupted over the police killing of George Floyd. He was a black man who died after a
white police officer kneeled on his neck. In more than 140 cities, across all 50 states,
tens of thousands took to the streets.
Demonstrators from Boston to Los Angeles rallied against the disproportionate police killings
of black people. The protests were largely peaceful. But with nightfall in some places,
the tone changed, and cities burned.
Conflicts amongst the crowds surfaced. Footage on social media showed the moment demonstrators
in Washington tackled a white man to the ground as he attempted to provoke police. In New
York City, demonstrators came head to head with police. And looting disrupted parts of
5th Avenue.
There was similar trouble in Washington, Philadelphia and elsewhere. A number of cities imposed
curfews. Nationwide, at least 23 states and the District of Columbia called out more than
17,000 National Guardsmen. But, in Minneapolis today, George Floyd's brother Terrence spoke
to crowds, appealing for calm.
TERRENCE FLOYD, Brother of George Floyd: If I'm not over here wilding out, if I'm not
over here blowing up stuff, if I'm not over here messing up my community, then what are
you all doing? What are you all doing?
You're all doing nothing, because that is not going to bring my brother back at all.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: In some cities, police expressed solidarity with the peaceful demonstrators,
when protesters in Washington struggled to wash tear gas from their eyes.
In New York City, some police cruisers drove into crowds. And in Atlanta, two police officers
were fired after dragging black college students out of their cars and Tasing them.
Through a historically tumultuous weekend, President Trump spoke only through Twitter.
There, he blamed anti-fascist organizations, or Antifa, for the violence. On a phone call
with governors today, the president called for harsher crackdowns.
DONALD TRUMP: You have to dominate. If you don't dominate, you're wasting your time.
They're going to run over you. You're going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to
dominate, and you have to arrest people, and you have to try people, and they have to go
to jail for long periods of time.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: This afternoon, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany weighed in.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, White House Press Secretary: The president has made clear that what we
are seeing on America's streets is unacceptable. Violence, looting, anarchy, lawlessness are
not to be tolerated, plain and simple.
These criminal acts are not protests. They are not statements. These are crimes that
harm innocent American citizens.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Outside the White House this weekend, the "NewsHour" spoke to demonstrators
like Jaden Olley, who says lives like his are on the line.
What do you want them to understand about your life as a black man?
JADEN OLLEY, Protester: I just -- I'm as equal as anybody else. You know what I'm saying?
I'm as comparable, as valuable as anybody else in the world, just because I'm a human
being, just like anybody else is.
So, I just -- I just want justice for everybody, not just justice for people that people feel
justice should be for.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: When you see the video of George Floyd, do you think, that could be
me?
JADEN OLLEY: Always. I was 8 years old and my mind when Trayvon Martin -- when the Trayvon
Martin case happened. And ever since then, I understood that it could be me.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Demonstrator Taylor Jones says that's a painful reality for her, too.
TAYLOR JONES, Demonstrator: My plans were to actually be a police officer, but then
I realized that that one good apple in a bad batch really doesn't make a difference, because
once you sign your life over to that badge, you have to be loyal to who you work for.
And that just wasn't me. I should not have to fear leaving my house and not being able
to breathe, or my mom calling me crying because I'm protesting for my rights, because she
is scared I won't come back home.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: This weekend, criticism of police violence in America echoed around
the world.
In Auckland, New Zealand streets filled with protesters chanting in support of Black Lives
Matter. And, in London, demonstrations there became violent as clashes erupted with police.
Back in this country, protesters gathered again this afternoon in New York, where an
overnight curfew was imposed and in other cities. And in Minneapolis, civil rights attorney
Ben Crump announced that a private autopsy on Floyd showed that he died of asphyxiation.
He and expert hired by the family pushed back on a county autopsy that said underlying health
conditions and possible intoxicates contributed to Floyd's death.
Instead, they said, sustained pressure on fluids neck and back by all four responding
officers are what killed him.
BENJAMIN CRUMP, Attorney for Family of George Floyd: The scar tissue of George Floyd's death
will be permanent scar tissue on the subconscious of America.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And the Minneapolis police chief said the three officers who watched
Floyd's killing were -- quote -- "complicit." But they have not been arrested or charged
in his death.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Yamiche Alcindor.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Later, the medical examiner in Minneapolis officially ruled George Floyd's
death a homicide.
Also today, the police chief of Louisville, Kentucky, was fired, a month before he retires,
after officers who reported to him killed a black man early today and failed to record
body cam footage. A black woman was killed by Louisville police in March in an incident
that is still under investigation.