The United States (US) Army was poised at the outskirts of DC, and approximately 1,600 troops were moved to the region, per the Pentagon. The military will not be engaging in law enforcement, a spokesperson for the Pentagon said. President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy military — in order to do so, he would have to invoke a Civil War-era act.
• Protests continued in DC and across the country, from Los Angeles to Portland to Minneapolis to New York. Thousands defied curfews to protest against police brutality.
• There were elections in eight states and Washington DC. It was another big test of vote by mail, with many states expanding absentee voting options, though many Americans did line up to cast ballots in person today.
• The controversial Iowa Republican Congressman, Steve King, has been ousted in Tuesday’s primary, losing his re-election race to the state senator Randy Feenstra. King previously questioned why white nationalism was offensive and was ousted from committee positions in Congress following racist comments. But Feenstra’s policy platform, which emphasizes a hard line against immigration, is not so different from King’s.
• The use of low-flying helicopters, one of which was printed with the Red Cross logo, against protestors in DC is being investigated by the National Guard. An amped law enforcement presence and the use of aggressive tactics against protestors in the nation’s capital and across the country are being widely criticized.
• Attorney General William Barr personally ordered the expansion of the perimeter outside the White House, resulting in the forcible removal of peaceful protesters, according to a new report. The Washington Post reported that Barr called for the protesters to be moved moments before Trump spoke at the White House yesterday.
• The state of Minnesota has filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department in response to the killing of George Floyd. The state cited “unlawful race-based policing” in the charge, which was announced by governor Tim Walz at a press conference this afternoon.
• Democratic Presidential Candidate, Joe Biden, sharply criticized Trump’s handling of the protests in a Philadelphia speech. “The president of the United States must be part of the solution, not the problem,” Biden said. “This president today is part of the problem and accelerates it.” The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is also expected to attend Floyd’s funeral next week.
• The Archdiocese of Washington said it was “baffling and reprehensible” to allow Trump to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine today. As Trump traveled to the Washington site, which is run by the Knights of Columbus, Archbishop Wilton Gregory said in a statement, “I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles, which call us to defend the rights of all people even those with whom we might disagree.”
• President Donald Trump said the RNC will seek a new venue after the governor of North Carolina told Republicans they should prepare for a “scaled-down convention” due to coronavirus. “The people of North Carolina do not know what the status of COVID-19 will be in August, so planning for a scaled-down convention with fewer people, social distancing and face coverings is a necessity,” Cooper said in a letter to the top convention organizer and the RNC chairwoman. – The Guardian
