US protests latest: Minneapolis police to be dismantled; US curfews lifted; Europeans join global wave of demonstrations
- Thousands of people take to the streets of European cities; Romney is first Republican senator to join US protests
- Here’s the latest on the protests, sparked by the killing of George Floyd
Tens of thousands of people marched in places from coast to coast Saturday in what was perhaps the largest one-day mobilisation since Floyd died on May 25.
“What we’re facing is a real reckoning on a lot of levels,” said Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter. “This [coronavirus] pandemic pulled back the curtains on decades of disinvestment, decades of devaluing and also now one of the major issues that black communities face is violence at the hands of the police.”
Many activists believe the unrest could be an opportunity to press Democratic leadership, including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden, to address criminal justice in a deeper way. Floyd’s family and civil rights leader the Reverend Al Sharpton have announced a march on Washington in August to call for a federal policing equality act.
Protesters marched again Sunday, though not in the apparent record numbers of the day before, nationally and globally. Despite the crowds’ size on Saturday, fewer arrests were reported in New York City and in the nation’s capital. President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday he was ordering the National Guard to vacate Washington “now that everything is under perfect control”.