Circle of resistance at Times Square
Seven NY officers behind arrest that led to Black man’s death suspended; US election process officially begins
Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters block traffic during a demonstration at Times Square in New York City on Thursday night to show their anger at the death of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man, after an encounter with the police in Rochester, New York, in March. The incident has become the latest flash point in a summer of civil unrest over racism and police brutality.
WASHINGTON/PORTLAND: Police shot dead an anti-fascist activist suspected of killing a farright supporter during protests in Portland, Oregon, as the US elections officially opened with the launch of vote-by-mail operations amid racial tensions and economic turmoil.
US Marshals Service located Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, in
Olympia, Washington on Thursday. He was wanted over the death of Aaron J Danielson last Saturday during a scuffle between protesters and supporters of President Donald Trump. “The suspect produced a firearm, threatening the lives of law enforcement officers,” a US Marshals Service spokesman said.
Portland marks 100 days of anti-racism protests
Portland is marking 100 days of protests against police brutality and racism, sparked by the killing of Black man George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Protests escalated as the Trump administration deployed federal agents to protect government property. Last Saturday’s clash took place in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that left him paralysed.
Danielson’s killing has become highly politicised in the run-up to the November 3 presidential election. “Why aren’t the Portland Police ARRESTING the cold blooded killer of Aaron ‘Jay’ Danielson,” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “Do your job, and do it fast. Everybody knows who this thug is. No wonder Portland is going to hell!”
On Thursday, seven cops were suspended in Rochester, New York for the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man with mental issues, days after an arrest in which he was pinned to the ground and his head covered with a hood. In Washington, DC, police released body camera footage from the cop who fatally shot a Black teenager. Deon Kay, 18, was shot in the chest on Wednesday.
North Carolina sends out election ballots
The election process got underway on Friday, with North Carolina sending out 618,000 ballots to voters, responding to a massive spike in requests. The ballots requested in the state were more than 16 times the number it had sent out at the same time four years ago. The requests came largely from Democratic and independent voters.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden is set to attack Trump’s handling of the economy. The US labour department reported on Friday that unemployment rate fell in August to 8.4% from 10.2% even as hiring slowed. Employers added 1.4 million jobs last month, down from 1.7mn in July and the fewest since hiring resumed in May. The economy has recovered barely half the 22mn jobs lost in Spring, but Trump camp is hailing the fall in unemployment for August.
Another controversy surrounding Trump broke amid reports that he had called fallen US military personnel buried in Europe “losers” and declined to visit a US cemetery during a 2018 trip to France because he thought it unimportant. Trump denied the reports.