US police forcefully crack down on protesters as curfews fail to stop demonstrations – as it happened

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2 Jun 202005.45 EDT

European Commission sides with Twitter over Trump row

Daniel Boffey

The European Commission has backed Twitter in its row with Donald Trump following the social media platform’s decision to hide one of the US president’s tweets with a warning over its glorification of violence.

The EU executive branch’s vice president, Věra Jourová, said politicians should answer “criticism with facts, not with threats and attacks,” in her response to the dispute.

After the addition of a fact-checking label to one of Trump’s tweets, the president had signed an executive order to reduce the social media platform’s protections against civil claims.

In a statement, Jourová said: “I support Twitter in their efforts to develop and implement a transparent, clear and consistent moderation policy. This is not about censorship. This is about flagging verifiably false or misleading information that may cause public harm, linking to reliable information, or flagging content violating their policies.

“The role of public authorities is not to interfere with content policies of private companies but to ensure that fundamental rights are protected online as well as offline – rights such as freedom of expression and information, non-discrimination, right to security.

“These rights protect all citizens, not only those in power. As politicians, we have to be held to account, and answer to criticism with facts, not with threats and attacks.”

The comments come ahead of next week’s expected launch of an overhaul of EU regulation of digital platforms. The commission will look at whether the big tech giants should be held responsible for content published on their sites or goods sold online.

A local television channel in Las Vegas is reporting that a city police officer was shot in the head tonight.

8 News Now said the incident, reportedly near the Circus Circus hotel and casino, was one of two shootings in the city.

The second occurred at the federal courthouse, the report said, when police fired at a suspect after they allegedly fired a shot.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed two shootings had taken place and that one officer had been hit, but did not provide details on their condition.

Protesters have been gathering on the main Las Vegas strip in recent days. On Monday evening, local media the demonstrations were largely peaceful although police broke up the crowds later in the night with tear gas.

Watch this video of protesters around the US explaining why they came out to demonstrate against systemic racism.

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George Floyd’s killing and the ensuing US protests have resonated around the world, with solidarity demonstrations held in multiple countries.

It has also energised many outside the US to refocus on the injustices faced by ethnic minorities.

My colleague in Australia, Naaman Zhou, is currently at a significantly-sized protest in Sydney, where people are demanding an end to violence there, especially against Aboriginal people who have died while in custody.

We reported on Monday that 432 Indigenous Australians have died in custody since 1991. One of them, David Dungay, 26, said “I can’t breathe” 12 times before he died while being restrained by five prison guards.

His family said they had been traumatised anew by the footage of the death of Floyd, who used those same words while under restraint.

Read the Guardian Australia full analysis and story here:

The Associated Press has reported that two people have been killed in the Chicago suburb of Cicero as protests continued over the death of George Floyd.

Town Spokesman Ray Hanania said 60 people were arrested during protests, and people broke into a liquor store and other businesses.

Hanania did not provide additional information about those killed or how they died.

We hope to have more details later on.

More police have been wounded tonight in apparent attacks.

In Buffalo, NY, a car ploughed through a group of officers at a protest, injuring at least two people.

The above video shows the car accelerating through lines of riot police as they quickly disperse. What appears to be gunshots can be heard.

While the person who posted the video warned they might have been fatalities, authorities said the two injured officers were in stable condition.

Police in Missouri have said four of their officers were struck by gunfire tonight. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

St. Louis’ police chief, John Hayden, said two were shot in the leg, one in the foot and one in the arm.

“What constructive thing is going on?” he told reporters. “People have decided to steal and break windows. That’s all they are doing. So I don’t understand what that has to do with Mr Floyd’s death? That’s what I don’t understand.”

“Some coward fired shots at officers,” Hayden said, before his voice cracked up.

You can see his full comments here:

Here’s a little more on Blackout Tuesday from my colleague, Justine Landis-Hanley:

Influencers across Instagram and Youtube are cancelling scheduled content this week to take part in Blackout Tuesday, in response to the death of George Floyd.

Last Friday, music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, called on music companies and artists to bring parts of the $19bn industry to a halt, using the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused.

Video creators, The TryGuys, who have over 8 million followers across Youtube and Instagram, have said they will participate in Blackout Tuesday and push back their regularly scheduled Wednesday Youtube video “to continue supporting the community and the #BlackLivesMatter movement”. They are joined by sketch comedy channel Smosh (26 million+ followers across Youtube and Instagram).

Some of the world’s most prominent Youtubers Dude Perfect (60 million+) and Markiplier (33 million+) have also posted content supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Meanwhile, model and Youtuber Karlie Kloss, model Gigi Hadid, influencer Maddie Ziegler, actress and Youtuber Lana Condor, and Australian fitness Youtuber Sarahs Day are just a few of the social media stars to post black squares to their Instagram feeds and stories in solidarity.

Los Angeles’ chief of police has apologised after he said people exploiting the protests to loot were also responsible for the death of George Floyd.

“His death is on their hands, as much as it is on those officers. And that is a strong statement,” Chief Michel Moore told a press conference on Monday.

Hours later, following an outcry, Moore retracted the comments on Twitter, acknowledging that they had been “terribly offensive”:

The city’s mayor, Eric Garcetti, has also spoken on the issue:

Hello to all those following.

Oliver Holmes here, taking over the blog for the next few hours. We’re now deep into the night across the US.

Please do get in contact with me if you spot anything, no matter how local it may seem, and also for any questions or feedback.

You can reach me via Twitter or on email, too: oliver.holmes [at] theguardian.com

That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. My colleague Oliver Holmes will be taking you through the latest US developments for the next few hours.

Many thanks to those of you who got in touch on Twitter with information from your cities and elsewhere – it is hugely appreciated. And, as always, thanks for following along.

Celebrities, influencers, brands and other users are publishing all-black posts on Instagram in support of protestors.

Film star Timothée Chalamet posted this three times, tagging Black Lives Matter.

Surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore took part, too:

The music industry is also observing a “blackoutday” on Tuesday:

The demonstration stands to bring major music companies, significant pieces of a $19bn industry, to a halt. The event organizer Live Nation will “pull the plug” on its operations and close offices for the day; radio shows will go silent; MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and other ViacomCBS-owned channels will “go dark”.

2 Jun 202002.07 EDT

Lois Beckett

Minneapolis public schools are considering whether to end their contract with the city’s police department following the death of George Floyd.

The city’s public school board will vote on Tuesday evening on a resolution that would terminate the school district’s contract with the police department to provide “school resource officers” and mandate that the superintendent prepare an alternate plan for keeping students safe.

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka has added her voice to protests over George Floyd’s death.

Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother, has previously passed her time in quarantine posting lighthearted selfies in stylish clothes or by the side of a pool.

But her social media feed changed following Floyd’s death, as she posted news footage of his death and the statement “There comes a time when silence is betrayal” as well as tweeting:

On Monday she posted on Twitter:

Osaka joins other sports figures in speaking out against racism and police violence, including basketball great Michael Jordan and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.

Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has offered to pay for George Floyd’s funeral and memorial services, and the family has accepted the offer, AP reports.

Mayweather personally has been in touch with the family, according to Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. He will handle costs for the funeral on June 9 in Floyd’s hometown of Houston, as well as other expenses.

View image in fullscreen

TMZ originally reported Mayweather’s offer.

“He’ll probably get mad at me for saying that, but yes, he is definitely paying for the funeral,” Ellerbe told ESPN.com on Monday.

“We’ve reached the ‘mad emperor’ stage, and it’s terrifying to behold,” writes Guardian columnist Richard Wolffe.

In the week since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers, Trump has watched and tweeted helplessly as the nation he pretends to lead has reached its breaking point. After decades of supposedly legal police beatings and murders, the protests have swept America’s cities more quickly than even coronavirus.

This is no coincidence of timing. In other crises, in other eras, there have been presidents who understood their most basic duty: to calm the violence and protect the people. In this crisis, however, we have a president who built his entire political career as a gold-painted tower to incite violence.

Here is a video of the incident referred to earlier, where police violently dispersed protestors ahead of Trump’s bible photo op:

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US president Donald Trump has visited the 200-year-old church near the White House that was set on fire as demonstrators clashed with police over the weekend. Beginning with James Madison, every person who has held the office of president has attended a service at St John’s Church.

Law enforcement cleared protesters out of the area with tear gas before Trump’s visit. Tear gas canisters could be heard exploding as Trump spoke in the Rose Garden. He then walked over to the church. The protesters appeared to be acting peacefully before they were dispersed by force.