May 31, 2020

“It Sounds Like a War Zone Down Here”— On the Ground at Demonstrations Sunday Night

Our reporters were in DC and Minneapolis.

Police form a line on H Street as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, Sunday, May 31, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Alex Brandon, AP

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For the sixth-straight day, demonstrators took to the streets across the country Sunday to protest systemic police brutality and racism following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. The Washington Post reports, “Police arrested more than 2,500 people in two dozen U.S. cities over the weekend.” But that was before Sunday night was over.

On Sunday, Washington, D.C., joined the 40 cities that have imposed curfews, aiming to stem the violent turn the demonstrations have taken over the weekend. As our colleague Nathalie Baptiste reported, “Police officers in cities around the country responded to protesters with egregious tactics, from unprovoked violent shoving to indiscriminate pepper spraying.”

Mother Jones’ Julia Lurie has been reporting on the protests on the ground in Minneapolis, and Stephanie Mencimer and Will Peischel were on the scene in D.C. Here’s what they’ve seen.

After a day of peaceful protests in DC, as night fell, thousands of protesters gathered on the streets near the White House. A few hours ago, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an 11 p.m. curfew and activated the National Guard to assist D.C. police.

 

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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