More protests around the globe emerge over racism, police actions
Far-right activists scuffled with police in London and Paris as more Black Lives Matter demonstrations unfolded nearly three weeks after George Floyd, a black man, died when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck.
European protesters sought to show solidarity with their American counterparts and to confront bias in their own countries. The demonstrations also posed a challenge to policies intended to limit crowds to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
In Palmdale, Calif., hundreds of people marched to demand an investigation of the death of a 24-year-old man, Robert Fuller, who was found hanging from a tree early Wednesday 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.
In Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh’s staff said he was in favor of removing a statue of Abraham Lincoln standing before a freed black man, The Boston Globe reported. The statue depicts Lincoln with one hand raised above the kneeling man with broken shackles on his wrists. A petition with 5,000 signatures said the statue represents a black man “beneath someone else.”
In Paris, police stopped protesters from confronting far-right activists, who unfurled a huge banner from a building denouncing “antiwhite racism.” The banner was partly torn down by residents in the building, with one raising a fist in victory.
A Black Lives Matter group in London called off a demonstration, saying the presence of counter-protesters would make it unsafe. Right-wing activists descended on the U.K. capital, saying they wanted to guard historical monuments that have been targeted by antiracism protesters.
Many gathered around the statue of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph war memorial, which were boarded up Friday to protect them from vandalism. Officials feared farright activists would seek confrontations with anti-racism protesters under the guise of protecting statues.
The statue of Churchill, who has long been revered for his World War II leadership, had been daubed with the words “was a racist.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Churchill a hero but acknowledged that he
“sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today.”
Some activists threw bottles and cans at officers, while others tried to push through police barriers. The mostly white crowd chanted “England” and sang the national anthem while riot police on horses pushed them back.
A rally in Paris drew 15,000, led by supporters of Adama Traore, a black French man who died in police custody in 2016. No one 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. Banners strung between trees around Republique plaza bore the names of dozens of others who have died or suffered violence at the hands of French police.
Elsewhere, hundreds rallied in Prague for the second straight weekend in support of protests in the U.S. The event was organized by an informal group of Americans living in Prague, along with several Czech groups.
The threat of rain and lack of a permit cut the size of crowds in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, but an estimated 5,000 people still turned out to honor Floyd and remember indigenous Australians who have died in custody.
Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan had urged organizers to postpone the event, citing health risks from the coronavirus.
Hannah McGlade, a human rights lawyer and activist, rejected Mr. McGowan’s request and called for an independent investigation into indigenous deaths.
“They told us not to come. They told us to be silent. We will not be silent,” Ms. McGlade said.