Activists do battle with police, BLM protesters
Britain’s Home Secretary condemned the ‘‘thoroughly unacceptable thuggery’’ of far-Right activists who attacked police and protesters Saturday, local time.
Some 3000 supporters of groups, including Britain First and the Democratic Football Lads Alliance, descended on London for what they said was a mission to protect the statue of Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph.
From mid-morning, many of the far-Right protesters gathered in Parliament Square and began drinking heavily. The statue of Churchill had earlier been boarded up, along with that of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and the Cenotaph, on the instructions of London Mayor Sadiq Khan to protect them from damage.
Throughout the afternoon, violence spilled over from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park, as the far-Right groups sought out Black Lives Matters protesters. Missiles were thrown at riot police and some in the crowd even gave Nazi salutes just yards from the Cenotaph.
The attacks on police around Westminster – which came as Black Lives Matter protesters gathered elsewhere around the country in mainly peaceful protest – were described by Priti Patel as ‘‘thoroughly unacceptable’’. She tweeted: ‘‘Any perpetrators of violence or vandalism should expect to face the full force of the law. Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated.’’
Police made 100 arrests.
In the United States, antiracism protesters sought to call attention to the deaths of two more black men – one who was found hanging from a tree in California and another who was fatally shot by police outside an Atlanta restaurant. The Atlanta police chief resigned hours later.
Atlanta police were called
Saturday about a man said to be sleeping in a car blocking a Wendy’s restaurant drive-thru. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was investigating reports that 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks failed a sobriety test and was shot in a struggle over a police Taser.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that she had accepted the resignation of Police Chief Erika Shields. The announcement came as roughly 150 protesters marched outside the restaurant. The mayor also called for the officer who opened fire on Brooks to be sacked. ‘‘I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force.’’
In Palmdale, California, hundreds of people marched to demand an investigation into the death of 24-year-old Robert Fuller, who was found hanging from a tree on Thursday near city hall. The protesters marched from where the body was found to a sheriff’s station, with many carrying signs that said ‘‘Justice for Robert Fuller.’’
Authorities said the death appeared to be a suicide, but an autopsy was planned. The city said there were no outdoor cameras that could have recorded what happened.
Protesters in New Orleans tore down a bust of a slave owner who left part of his fortune to New Orleans’ schools and then took the remains to the Mississippi River and rolled it into the water.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said that the city ‘‘rejects vandalism and destruction of city property. It is unlawful.’’
European protesters sought to show solidarity with their American counterparts over the death of George Floyd, the black man who died last month at the hands of a white policeman in Minneapolis, and other victims of prejudice.
The demonstrations also posed a challenge to policies intended to limit crowds to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
A rally in Paris drew 15,000, led by supporters of Adama Traore, a French black man who died in police custody in 2016. Noone has been charged in his death. Police fired tear gas and blocked people from marching. An enormous portrait showed one face with images of Floyd and Traore. –