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“The rich are concerned with keeping their power and keeping the race thing going”
After more than a week of nationwide protests, new charges announced against George Floyd’s murderers
4 June 2020
Thousands of youth and workers across the country have continued, despite brutal police violence and hastily imposed curfews, to demand justice for George Floyd and all victims of police violence.
The demonstrations have continued in every state and internationally with protests slated to last the rest of the week and into the weekend.
In an attempt to placate, and eventually suffocate, this growing multiracial movement of workers and youth against state violence, Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday afternoon new charges against the four officers responsible for the murder of Floyd.
Three more Milwaukee police officers charged in death of George Floyd. From left, Tomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao (photos: Hennepin Country Sherriff)
Derek Chauvin, who suffocated George Floyd for nearly nine minutes, was charged with second-degree murder in addition to his previous charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence.
Ellison also announced charges for the other three officers, J. Alexander Kueng 26, Thomas Lane, 37, and Tuo Thao, 34. All three were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. The charges carry with them a possible maximum prison sentence of 40 years.
Civil right attorney Benjamin Crump, representing the Floyd family, reiterated their demand that Chauvin be charged with first-degree murder. A massive memorial is planned for George Floyd today in Minneapolis in which thousands are expected to pay their respects. They will do so while the majority of the state remains under curfew and occupation with over 7,000 guardsmen deployed, mostly in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz, who less than a week ago denounced thousands of protesters as “anarchists” and “white supremacists” run by drug cartels “whose one goal was destruction,” welcomed the new charges as “a meaningful step toward justice for George Floyd.”
Walz continued, blaming Floyd’s murder on the “disease of systemic racism,” which “is on each of us to solve together, and we have hard work ahead.” In a similar vein, President Barack Obama, in a short virtual town hall appearance, stated, “now is the time for real police department reform ... now is the time for real criminal justice reform.” Why his own eight years in office, during which 8,000 people were killed by police, were not the time for “reform” Obama failed to discuss.
In Washington D.C., thousands of soldiers, police and troopers continue to be deployed around monuments and buildings and at intersections throughout the city. In chilling images that will define the Trump administration, hundreds of soldiers, clad head to toe in body armor, remain positioned behind steel barricades occupying the Lincoln Memorial.
The murder of George Floyd
New York City
In New York City, an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew is in effect through Sunday. So far, more than 2,000 protesters have been arrested over the past six days, including some 900 Monday and Tuesday nights.
Prior to the enforcement of the curfew last night, New York police have blocked off subway stations, including Columbus Circle, preventing protesters from returning home.
On Wednesday, protests and marches were held at Washington Square Park and outside Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, Staten Island, the Bronx, Queensbridge Park and Elmhurst, Queens, Bedford and Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, and in New Rochelle. Thousands of protesters began walking uptown from Washington Square Park at around 4 p.m. and are still on the move at the time of writing.
In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a black man was shot multiple times and killed by police after he had allegedly shot another man. According to police, the man was found hiding behind a tree with a pistol, which he held in the air, but never fired or pointed at the police. Police state that after he refused to drop the weapon, “multiple shots” were fired, killing him.
Boston
A diverse crowd of thousands of people rallied on Boston Common Wednesday afternoon in a peaceful protest organized mainly on social media. National Guard members carrying assault rifles and Boston police bearing large sticks and riot gear stood nearby, but there was no confrontation.
In the working-class city of Brockton, south of Boston, the situation remained calm Wednesday after protests the previous day in which protesters clashed with police following a peaceful protest. After a rally of several hundred people, some protesters had marched to the Brockton police station where some in the crowd pelted police with rocks, fireworks and frozen water bottles.
Police used tear gas to break up the protest and National Guard troops were called in. Protesters moved on to a Dunkin’ Donuts shop, where some broke windows and attempted to burn it down, according to police. Officers mobilized police dogs in an attempt to terrorize the protesters. A curfew put in place at the beginning of the pandemic, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., is still in place in Brockton.
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina today had its fifth consecutive day of protests, which has been peaceful and somewhat smaller than in previous days. Thousands have taken part in the past week, gathering at the State House, marching through the streets, defying curfews and clashing with police. Three police cars were set on fire in the initial days of the protests. Thirty businesses in the downtown area were damaged.
With the banner headline May 31 that “15 law enforcement officers were injured during the violent protests in Columbia,” the local daily newspaper, The State, seemed to imply widespread anti-police violence. But its article went on to explain that while three officers were reportedly “assaulted” and two received cuts on the face from broken glass, “police said the other injuries were all related to heat exhaustion.”
Also on May 31, protesters marching toward police headquarters in Columbia were repelled by tear gas fired on them by a wall of police in riot gear, including members of the Department of Corrections Special Response Team. Protesters were also fired on with tear gas and rubber bullets at the State House. By the end of the night, an armored SWAT vehicle could be seen driving down Gervais Street, followed by a phalanx of police in riot gear.
It was reported yesterday, June 2, that during Donald Trump’s call with governors, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster asserted without evidence that some of the agitators were being paid and even receiving bonuses in the event they were arrested. The State reported, “A spokesman for McMaster said the governor was referring to anecdotal evidence he has received in private conversations but would not get into the details of those conversations, including what specific evidence he heard or who he was talking to.”
Florida
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, dutifully following Trump’s demands to “dominate the streets,” has mobilized 700 National Guard and 1,300 highway patrol troopers to “support” law enforcement and “aid” police in intimidating workers and youth. DeSantis has declared that “Florida has zero tolerance for violence, rioting and looting.” He described George Floyd’s murder as appalling and called for those officers to be “brought to justice.”
On Wednesday, several groups were marching through downtown Orlando, starting at City Hall and mostly moving around Orlando Police Department headquarters; more than 2,000 people were counted at 5:20 p.m.
Atlanta
Protests in Atlanta are continuing for the sixth day in defiance of a 9 p.m. curfew imposed since Saturday night.
Police have shown “zero tolerance” towards these protesters and over the past five days, arresting at least 400 persons including journalists and legal professionals on specious charges including defying the curfew.
Cleveland
On Wednesday morning, the city of Cleveland lifted its curfew, allowing residents to travel in the city’s Downtown and Market District. Cleveland had put both areas under lockdown since Sunday in order to suppress protests that emerged on Saturday in opposition to police brutality. The city administration has also declared that it will continue to impose an 8 p.m. thru 6 a.m. curfew until Friday morning.
On Tuesday, a crowd of roughly 150 protesters converged outside the First District police station in the neighborhood of West Park. A number of officers filmed the demonstration from the rooftop and a few National Guard soldiers stood outside the station. A separate protest that occurred the same day marched from the First District station to the Downtown area, monitored by police on bicycles.
While there were no arrests from the protests on Tuesday, the city’s chief of police, Calvin D. Williams, declared that he was working with federal and local law enforcement agencies to identify and investigate individuals that broke the law at protests over the weekend. He has also reasserted claims that the police had arrested a number of people from out of state at the protests over the weekend, despite everyone that was processed at the Cuyahoga County jail at that time having an Ohio address.
Albuquerque
In the state’s largest city, Albuquerque, hundreds of protesters have gathered at several sites to hold car rallies, marches and gatherings. Protesters marched June 1 from the Nob Hill neighborhood to the University of New Mexico chanting “Help, I can’t breathe!” and “Hands up, don’t shoot!” under the watch of well-armed police. On June 2, protesters marched from UNM downtown to gather at the Albuquerque Police Department headquarters.
San Diego
A 59-year-old grandmother, Leslie Furcron, who was protesting outside of the La Mesa police headquarters, last Saturday was shot between the eyes by police with a bean bag projectile. Furcron survived and was placed into a medically induced coma at a local hospital where she is now in stable condition. The shooting was captured on video and has gone viral. According to the family and their attorney, she may lose an eye. A GoFundMe.Com page has been set up by the family to pay for medical costs expected to reach $1 million.
The La Mesa Police Department held a press conference on Wednesday where they refused to identify the officer involved in the shooting, citing an “ongoing investigation.”
Seattle, Washington
WSWS reporter Julio Patron spoke with an Air Traffic Controller in Seattle who wished to remain anonymous on the ongoing protests within the city and throughout the country.
Speaking about the character of the protests and Trump’s use of the military, Bob stated, “They’ve been gearing up for this for years with the militarization of the police, the expansion of executive powers, the stacking of the courts. We’re living in a future high school history book chapter.”
Bob noted the deliberate targeting of journalists: “I’ve seen at least three cases of reporters being shot or gassed. This is insane. Our president has said he wants to send the Army in, in clear violation of the law, but then laws haven’t stopped the fascists ever. The laws aren’t for them, apparently.
“I really hope that this crisis does push us towards real socialist change. I’m afraid that the crisis will be resolved or ‘dominated’ before the necessary critical mass is achieved. But all we can do is reach out and work hard.
“The actions of struggle being undertaken now are actually heartening. It gives me hope that this protest has spread as far as it has. A friend of mine in China said that US news dominates their international coverage right now.”
“The rich are concerned with keeping their
power and keeping the race thing going”
American workers voice support for mass protests
against police brutality
4 June 2020
The mass, multiracial and multiethnic demonstrations that have
erupted across the US and internationally in response to the police murder of
George Floyd are quickly becoming the most powerful protest movement in
American history. Demonstrators have courageously defied the increasingly
dictatorial moves by the Trump administration, with tens of thousands
protesting following Trump’s threat to deploy the military in any city he
chooses.
The central
strategic questions facing demonstrators are how to broaden their struggle as
widely as possible and the need to maintain its political independence from the
procorporate Democratic Party, which can only be accomplished through the mass
mobilization of the entire working class and the development of a revolutionary
leadership. As the Socialist Equality Party (US) noted in its statement Monday:
The working class—upon which the functioning of society
depends—has the power to stop the assault on democratic rights, create a
massive political movement to drive Trump from power, break the back of the
corporate-financial oligarchy and begin the restructuring of economic life on a
socialist basis.
There is broad
sympathy for the protesters within the working class, with the vast majority of
protesters being working class youth of every race and ethnic background.
During a march through parts of New York City Tuesday, nurses and other health
care workers across the city stood on sidewalks to cheer on passing
protesters. In Minneapolis, nurses finishing their hospital
shift joined the protests to treat rubber bullet and tear gas injuries.
The World Socialist Web Site spoke
with a cross-section of American workers, including workers at UPS, Fiat
Chrysler and Amazon, a transit worker in Washington, D.C., and a teacher in
Pittsburgh. All of the workers voiced support for the protests, while
denouncing the criminal response of the Trump administration and the brutal
police crackdown against the demonstrators.
Fiat Chrysler workers in Detroit
“The murder of Floyd is a metaphor for a system that is putting
pressure on us so we can’t breathe until all the life is sucked out us,” a
young worker at Fiat Chrysler’s Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in suburban
Detroit, Michigan told the WSWS. “The crisis we face is not about a particular
race. It’s about the way the system continues to exploit workers and strip us
of our rights so the rich capitalists can control every aspect of our lives.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are flipping burgers at Burger King,
are a barista at Starbucks, a cashier at CVS or a production operator at
Chrysler. We all have the same problems. Trump wants to become a dictator and
use the military as his private militia. The Democrats claim they are for us,
but they aren’t. They want to shut people up as soon as possible too.
“But what about the rights of the common working people? The
working class should have our own party. We’re not the megarich, but we make
the products and create all the wealth. So we should be entitled to say where
that wealth goes.
“Race has always been used to divide us. But this is a
multi-race, multi-age movement, and it’s becoming a class movement. We have to
take the anger and energies of these protests, communicate and discuss
solutions and speak the truth. We have to be aware of those who want to
distract and pit us against each other. These are times to help those in need,
not to step over each other but to get in line together and fight.
“In the protests, you are standing next to someone who feels
exactly the way you do. With that power, they can’t conquer us. My generation
doesn’t care about race. I work with all types and races of people in the
plant. We don’t care who is Jewish, who is Catholic or whatever. If we have
common ground, then we stand together. The rich are only concerned with keeping
their power and positions safe and keeping the racial thing going.
“The demonstrations are now growing in other countries, like
France and New Zealand. That is great. We have multimedia platforms to connect
and broadcast. Earlier generations did not have this access, and we have to
capitalize on the internet, which is always a day or two ahead of the news.
Clearly their capitalist system is set in stone, and we can navigate and unite
against it.”
Another Fiat Chrysler worker, at the Jefferson North Assembly
Plant in Detroit, commented on the protests: “I think it goes to show how
people are tired of racism and of the disparity between classes. It’s not just
black people. Everyone is fed up.”
The autoworker added, “I think workers are fighting to be heard
and listened to, not just passed over. We have to become united and stay
united.”
Amazon workers in Baltimore
An Amazon worker from Baltimore, Maryland spoke about the wave
of protests and the outlook of the younger generation. “Kids today don’t have
it like we did earlier in our lives. There’s more diversity now. They learn how
to respect people.
“Donald Trump acts like he can do whatever he wants,” the worker
said. “He’s going to pay for it.” He noted that the Democrats have put forward
African American politicians, such as Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, to
denounce the protesters as violent.
“They want to divide the protests based on race. It’s the
easiest way to control people. The kids aren’t going for that. They’re
intelligent, and they have access to a lot more resources of information.”
Another Amazon worker in Baltimore said, “It’s not acceptable to
be abused by a badge-wearing police officer. It’s happened to me before in my
own home. My fiancée at the time was yelling at the cop to let me breathe.
“I’m encouraged by all the people taking a stand. Trump’s
actions against the protesters were idiotic. Amazon employees have to take a
stand. We must have rank-and-file committees and cut the ruling class off at
the knees.”
UPS worker in Fremont, California
Dylan, a UPS worker in Fremont, California, is furious about the
murder of George Floyd. “If people didn’t protest,” he said, “the officer
probably wouldn’t have been charged. He probably won’t be locked up for more
than a year and some months.”
Dylan, who is white, created shirts that he gave out to family
and friends who are also protesting. He explained his support for the protests,
saying, "I see how black people get treated. I’ve been mistreated by the
police too. I’ve been beaten up twice by the police, and it’s just awful,
especially when you’ve done nothing wrong. I know what that feels like. I hate
the police. They are messing people up. It’s more of a poor thing, than a race
thing. It’s poor people who get screwed.”
He agreed with the need to turn the fight against police
violence to the broader working class, stating, “It’s important for the working
class to be involved with every issue like this. More working class people need
to be involved. We’re the ones who run everything. If we stopped working,
nothing would work, and nothing would stand.”
Transit worker in Washington, D.C.
A transit worker
in the Washington, D.C. area noted that the Declaration of Independence states,
“All men are created equal.” He added, “We know that’s not true in practice. I
knew two of the people who were framed in the Central Park 5 case [in
New York City]. They were from my neighborhood.”
Speaking about the efforts to use race to divide the protesters
and claims by proponents of identity politics that black people have always
been alone in the fight for democratic rights, the transit worker said, “White
people have stood with us in all important fights. There was the Underground
Railroad, there was John Brown. White versus black: it’s all an effort to
divide us, while Congress is letting Donald Trump get away with these things.”
Public school teacher in upstate New York
A retired teacher from the Buffalo, New York area attended the
protest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Saturday with her two college-aged
daughters, saying, “It was something we wanted to take part in, add our voices
to, as all of us shared in the horror of witnessing the murder of George
Floyd.”
Commenting on the unending police violence in the US, she said,
“The police no longer consider it necessary to give even the pretense that they
are here to protect people, that they will respect people’s right to a trial,
or that they are concerned about the lives of those they take into custody. Nor
are they worried about there being any consequences for their brutality. They
understand the Trump administration’s message that cops will be protected at
all costs. The police are inculcated with the belief that they are fighting an
enemy on American soil, that enemy being the working class!”
She described the Pittsburgh protest as composed of “mostly
youth, and it was noteworthy that no single race predominated. There were
blacks, whites, Hispanics, and others, all standing and chanting in solidarity
with one another.”
At a certain point, the police and National Guard began launching
compression grenades and teargas into the crowd, causing protesters to flee and
regroup elsewhere. As with the police violence against protesters across the
country, “There was no violence on the part of the protesters, so their attacks
were completely unjustifiable,” the teacher commented.
She noted, “As curfew approached, the Guard began assembling
into military formations, as they were going to move in against the protesters.
As we began to clear out, we noted the courage of youth, walking with determination
into the area of the protests rather than away.”
Commenting on the Trump administration’s increasingly
dictatorial moves, she said, “The right to assemble and peaceably protest is
being stripped away. Protesters are already being subdued by militarized police
forces and the National Guard. Trump’s illegal invocation of the 1807
Insurrection Act to use the military against legal protest movements and
civilians exercising their constitutional rights demonstrates that we are
quickly moving towards martial law and a military dictatorship.
“The continued protests demonstrate that the working class,
especially youth, have no intention of allowing this to happen. Although
escalating police brutality has been the catalyst for these protests, the true
meaning of them is the need to remove from power the capitalist class and its
endless attacks on the working class. The ultimate aim of the protests is to
create a society that meets the needs of the mass of people, including the
right to employment, education, health care, housing, and the end of environmental
degradation and endless warfare.”
Sonnie Johnson: If Conservatives Abandon Black Communities, ‘We Are Going to Lose Our Country’
4:49
Conservatives must make political inroads with black Americans or risk losing the country to the left, warned Sonnie Johnson, host of SiriusXM’s Sonnie’s Corner, offering her remarks on Tuesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow.
Johnson and Marlow discussed protests, riots, and unrest following the death of George Floyd.
“Socialists, radicals, and anarchists were starting to infiltrate black organizations and black communities,” Johnson said, reflecting on how blacks have been targeted by various left-wing groups’ political messaging for years. “They were showing up at churches, festivals, hip-hop conventions. Every place that had black people, these socialists, these radicals, and these anarchists were showing up, and they were giving support to these people.”
Johnson noted Democrats’ political dominance in cities with large black populations. She highlighted the centrality of local governance in the oversight of local police.
“[There is a] partnership between these Democratic politicians and the policing,” Johnson said. “That’s where these people get their power, where they are allowed to not be held accountable for the way they treat the public.”
Johnson added, “A lot of the power that [police officers] get is given to them by these local politicians and negotiations that they have with their unions. Those things cannot be changed from the federal level. They have to be addressed at the state level.”
LISTEN:
Political corruption of schools is also linked to local Democrat governance, noted Johnson.
“When you hear black people saying that the schools are a pipeline to prison, we as conservatives know that the school system is a failure,” Johnson stated. “We understand as conservatives what progressives have done to it. We understand how they turn them into indoctrination centers.”
The conservative refrain of high school graduation as a buffer against poverty does little to help black communities afflicted with corrupted public schools, said Johnson.
“These teachers’ unions make these deals with these politicians at the local level,” Johnson stated. “You can’t fire bad teachers. You can’t get them out of the classroom. It is impossible to change the curriculum. You can’t put in civics. You can’t put in economics. You can’t put in any kind of entrepreneurship.”
Johnson continued, “These people that are coming from these indoctrination centers, what are they really learning? What do they actually have that they can be contributing members from the education system that you’ve given them? It’s a complete failure, and that won’t change at the federal level. It has to come at the local level.”
Johnson added, “You have your mayors, you have your [district attorneys], you have your judges. Every single aspect of our lives is under Democratic control. When we are saying systemic racism, what is our system? Our system is a republic. That means the government closest to you has the most power over your life. If they are telling you there is systemic racism, they are saying there is something systemically wrong with their local government.”
Conservatives can compete for political support against Democrats in black communities, Johnson maintained, urging conservatives not to fear engaging in conversations regarding race.
Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and Democrats will fill political voids in black communities created by conservative and Republican withdrawal, determined Johnson.
“Democrats are not going to reform themselves, and you cannot ask two or three black people to come in and take over an entire Democratic machine that has been entrenched for 60 years or more,” Johnson warned. “We have people who can do this, but we cannot do it by ourselves. We can’t beat this whole damn machine by ourselves.”
Black communities are not offered alternatives to left-wing politics when conservatives abandon them, Johnson stated.
“If you look at every single study, the majority of black people are overwhelmingly conservative,” Johnson said. “The problem is none of us show up to their communities. None of us offers solutions. None of us are there when … the cop kills the innocent man. Antifa is showing up and socialists are showing up, and if we do not become the force that gives these people an option and a choice, we are going to lose this country.”
Johnson cautioned, “If Republicans don’t get their asses on the ground, nothing is going to change. It is never going to be different. This will continue to get worse, and we are going to lose our country.”
Breitbart News Daily broadcasts live on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
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