Cities across the United States were rocked by historic civil unrest as protests in the wake of a white police officer’s killing of George Floyd, a black man, continued to shake the nation and
reverberate across the world (NPR).
Peaceful demonstrations took place amid the coronavirus pandemic that has already triggered lockdowns and economic pain. More than half the nation’s governors activated the National Guard (
WaPo) to try and quell the protests, which in some cases escalated into looting and property damage; many cities imposed curfews. Police
responded aggressively (NYT) in a number of reported incidents, and journalists were arrested, pepper-sprayed, and shot with rubber bullets. Amid the crisis, President Donald J. Trump
tweeted calls (WaPo) for law and order, at one point saying the United States would declare Antifa, short for anti-fascists, a terror organization, though it is unclear how he could do that as Antifa is not an organized group.