George Floyd protest live updates: Trump calls governors 'weak'; Chicago violence 'spread like wildfire,' mayor says

Minneapolis and other U.S. cities were bracing for more angry demonstrations Monday after protesters and police across the nation clashed for a sixth straight night in the wake of George Floyd's death.

More than 4,400 arrests have been made at demonstrations nationwide since video emerged showing former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee to Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes. On Monday, President Donald Trump chastised governors for failing to halt the looting, vandalism and violence.

"You have to dominate or you'll look like a bunch of jerks, you have to arrest and try people," he told governors on a conference call. "If you don't put it down it will get worse and worse."

Peaceful protests continued to be marred by violence, and vandalism and looting continued across the country, as did the use of tear gas and rubber bullets by police in confrontations with protesters.

A closer look at some recent developments:

• Results of a second, independent autopsy are expected to be released Monday afternoon by the attorneys representing Floyd's Family.

• Attorney General William Barr has deployed federal riot teams to Washington, D.C., and Miami in an attempt to quell violent clashes between protesters and police.

• Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo apologized to Floyd's family Sunday, saying that firing Chauvin and the other three officers involved in the Memorial Day confrontation was the right thing to do.

• Two Atlanta police officers have been fired after being accused of excessive use of force during George Floyd protest.

• President Donald Trump said he would designate antifa as a terror organization and blamed the group for violence at George Floyd protests.

What we're reading today: How did we get here? A timeline of events leading up to the nationwide outcry against Floyd's death.

Our live blog will be updated throughout the day. For first-in-the-morning updates, sign up for the Daily Briefing. Here's the latest news:

Chicago mayor: Violence, looting 'spread like a wildfire'

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday vehemently denied claims that she protected the city's downtown area at the expense of neighborhoods devastated by looting and vandalism Sunday night.

Chicago officials, stung by nights of violence, had shut down most streets and transit headed downtown Sunday. Several city alderman called on Lightfoot to increase National Guard numbers to 3,000, from the current 375, and send them into neighborhoods. Chicago Police Supt. David Brown has said his officers are better suited for community duty. Lightfoot said she "did not stand by and let the South and West sides burn."

"The fact is that the violence that we saw and the looting that we saw spread like a wildfire," she said.

Results of second Floyd autopsy due today

Lawyers for George Floyd's family will announce the findings of an autopsy Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT in a virtual news conference. The announcement comes one week after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on Floyd's neck for several minutes while Floyd, 46, was handcuffed, crying that he couldn't breathe and pleading for help. An official autopsy released last week indicated that the combined effects of being restrained, potential intoxicants in Floyd's system and his underlying health issues, including heart disease, probably contributed to his death.

- Lorenzo Reyes and Trevor Hughes

Trump derides governors as 'weak': 'You have to arrest people'

President Donald Trump slammed the nation's governors Monday as "weak" and demanded tougher crackdowns on protesters following another night of violence. Trump spoke to governors on a video teleconference with law enforcement and national security officials, telling the local leaders they "have to get much tougher" amid nationwide protests and criticizing their responses.

"Most of you are weak," Trump said. "You have to arrest people."

More than 4,400 hundred arrests have been made across the nation in sometimes-violent protests since George Floyd's death on Memorial Day.

Police chiefs must hold officers accountable, law enforcement group says

George Floyd's death was "unnecessary, avoidable and criminal," the Major Cities Chiefs Association said in a statement Monday. The group, whose members include police executives from the largest cities in the United States and Canada, says it can be honest about its law enforcement history dating back over two centuries "that has included institutional racism" including violence against African Americans seeking equal rights. The statement says every major city chief must take every action "within their legal authority" to hold officers accountable.

"We need to hear what America is telling us right now," the statement said. "We need to take bold and courageous action to change the narrative of our history as it relates to the disparate impact and outcomes that policing has had - and continues to have - on African Americans, people of color and the disenfranchised."

Federal riot teams sent to Washington after damage near White House

Riot teams are being sent to Washington, D.C, and Miami from the federal Bureau of Prisons. The FBI also has directed its elite Hostage Rescue Unit to help in D.C., a senior Justice Department official said Monday.The federal prison riot team arrived in Miami on Sunday.

A weekend of rioting in the nation's capital left deep scars in the shadow of the White House and across the city where 88 people have been arrested, while dozens of law enforcement officers, including Secret Service agents were injured.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a 7 p.m. curfew Monday. She said significant damage was done around the White House on Sunday. There was also a fire at the historic St. John's Church across from the White House.

- Kevin Johnson

In New York: Police cars burn, no curfew planned, mayor's daughter arrested

Setting a curfew in New York City to help curb violent protests would be a pointless exercise doomed to failure, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Monday.

Police cars burned and several officers were injured in clashes Sunday night, the fourth consecutive night of violence in the city. Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose daughter Chiara is among almost 1,000 people arrested since Thursday, said NYPD officers "showed restraint" amid the mayhem.

De Blasio also downplayed the value of a curfew. Shea, speaking on the "Today" show, said a curfew would be ignored and extremely difficult to enforce.

"The problem is, people need to listen to a curfew and that's not going to happen," Shea said. "And if people think it will, they don't understand what's going on."

More news about the George Floyd protests

• Resources, ways to donate: How you can take action from home after the death of George Floyd

• Consoler in chief or confronter in chief? Combination of crises tests Trump's leadership

• Covering Floyd protests: Journalists blinded, injured, arrested

• Their stores were burned, ransacked and looted. What's next for Minneapolis-area small business owners who lost everything?

• The birth of the #WalkWithUs movement: Local leaders join George Floyd protesters across US in a show of solidarity.

Journalists attacked by officers, protesters

As protests across the nation turn violent, members of the news media have been caught in the crossfire - or targeted. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it is investigating reports of attacks and arrests in Louisville, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

In Iowa on Sunday, police arrested reporter Andrea Sahouri, of the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, on charges of failure to disperse while she was covering a demonstration that turned violent. Sahouri said police sprayed her in the face with pepper spray after she identified herself as a member of the media. "I'm press. I'm press. I'm press," she said she told police.

Carlos Martínez de la Serna, program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said targeted attacks on journalists covering the demonstrations "show a complete disregard for their critical role in documenting issues of public interest and are an unacceptable attempt to intimidate them."

- Lorenzo Reyes

In Minneapolis 'chaos is the soundtrack of the city'

Monday dawned cloudy and cool in Minneapolis as thousands of people headed to work following a weekend of protests. A light rain fell on the water bottles and milk jugs littered the area around Cedar Avenue as it crosses over I-35, the site Sunday night of the latest confrontations between protesters and police. Arrests were made after the 8 p.m. curfew, but they were a tiny proportion of the thousands who peacefully marched around the city and across the Mississippi River bridges Sunday afternoon.

Outside the Cup Foods store where Floyd died in police custody, banners and flowers fluttered in the morning wind as a stream of mourners came to pay their respects.

Miranda Strong, 28, said arresting the three officers who stood by while another officer - charged in the case - would be a positive sign, but she added that reform is needed.

"Yes, those men need to be labeled as murderers. But what about every single life they took before this?" asked Strong, who lives in an apartment overlooking where Floyd died. "The system doesn't work."

She said she didn't immediately realize Floyd died in police custody outside her window because she's so accustomed to the sirens and yelling and heavy police presence across Minneapolis.

"All of that chaos is the soundtrack to the city," Strong said. "And we don't want that to be our norm anymore."

- Trevor Hughes

3 dead in confrontations with authorities in Kentucky, Iowa

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear authorized state police to conduct an independent investigation after Louisville Metro Police and National Guard personnel fatally shot a man early Monday. Police Chief Steve Conrad said someone in the group gathered after the 9 p.m. curfew fired at the law enforcement personnel, who returned fire.

In Davenport, Iowa, two people were killed in multiple shootings after rioting broke out, the police chief said at a news conference Monday. Chief Paul Sikorski said police responded Sunday night to disturbances near a mall involving 100 vehicles and "rioters." Over the next several hours, police responded to dozens of confirmed shots-fired incidents, including one where officers were ambushed and one was shot, Sikorski said. One officer was shot, one officer returned fire and several rounds hit the officers' vehicle.

"They were not like they protests and demonstrations Saturday," Sikorski said. "What we experienced tonight, last night was completely unacceptable and it does not honor the memory of Mr. Floyd."

- Philip Joens, Des Moines Register; Billy Kobin, Louisville Courier Journal

Reports: President Trump hustled to bunker amid White House protests

President Donald Trump was briefly moved to the White House's underground bunker Friday night to shelter in place as the protest grew outside the Executive Mansion, according to multiple outlets. The protests over George Floyd's death hit the nation's capital Friday night as angry protesters arrived at Pennsylvania Avenue, leading to a lockdown at the White House. Dozens of Secret Service agents were injured in clashes with protesters over the weekend, and videos showed a large group of protesters - some burning flags and knocking over barricades.

CNN reported that the president remained in the bunker for about an hour before returning to the residence, and it is currently unknown whether the First Lady and their son, Barron, were with him.

- Savannah Behrmann

2 Atlanta officers fired, accused of excessive force against protesters

Atlanta officials fired two police officers and placed three on desk duty pending review over the alleged use of excessive force against protesters in a clash Saturday night. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she saw a video, which she called "disturbing," of five officers pulling two college students out of a car downtown. Bottoms and police Chief Erika Shields made the announcement at a press conference after reviewing body-camera footage.

"We understand that our officers are working very long hours under an enormous amount of stress," Bottoms said. "But we also understand that the use of excessive force is never acceptable."

- Jessica Flores

At least 4,400 arrests since George Floyd's death: AP data

At least 4,400 people nationwide have been arrested over days of protests since George Floyd's death on Memorial Day, according to a tally compiled by The Associated Press. About 150 people were arrested in Minnesota after violating curfew amid protests Sunday night, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety tweeted. DPS continued to tweet about arrests late into the night and added, "Even peaceful protesters who are breaking curfew are subject to arrest. Please go home and stay there."

DPS announced the arrests of more than 155 people Saturday night across multiple agencies. A dozen firearms were confiscated between the State Patrol and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Truck driver drives into protesters in Minneapolis

The Minneapolis Department of Public Safety confirmed a semi-truck drove into a group of peaceful protesters on Interstate 35. The driver of the truck was taken into custody, but not before protesters pulled him from the truck's cab. The driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. More than 150 people were arrested at protests in the city Sunday night.

"Even peaceful protesters who are breaking curfew are subject to arrest. Please go home and stay there," said a tweet from the state Department of Public Safety. " Curfew is in effect in Minneapolis and St. Paul until 6 a.m."

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Floyd protest: Washington DC prison riot teams, Chicago looting

COMMENTS