Live Updates: National Guard Ramps Up Presence in States as George Floyd Protests Continue

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Kremlin is following the news about the protests in the United States closely, but regards the matter as the country's domestic affair, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

"Undoubtedly, we follow closely what is happening in the United States, but what is happening there is the internal affair of that country, we have never interfered in the American affairs and are not planning to do that now", he told reporters.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Groundless claims about Russia's involvement in the currently ongoing unrest in the United States are nothing but dirty methods and manipulation of information, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Monday, commenting on a recent statement by ex-US National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

Zakharova said that the team of former US President Barack Obama was trying to persuade "the whole world" that the US' domestic problems were "created and aggravated by Russia".

"You are trying to repeat this mistake today, resorting, together with a CNN reporter, to dirty methods of information manipulation: fake statements and no facts to substantiate them. Your interview with CNN is propaganda", Zakharova wrote on Facebook. "Are you trying to use 'the Russian card' again? You have been playing for too long, come back to reality. Come to your people, look in their eyes and say that Russians are managing them via YouTube and Facebook".

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Rallies in memory of George Floyd, an African American man who died in police custody in Minnesota, will continue until racism stops, a protester in Washington told Sputnik on Sunday, adding that the black community in the United States wants equal treatment.

"We are tired of the socio and economic pressure black people and people of colour have been going through in this country. So, we are doing everything that we can peacefully right now to make sure the president [Donald Trump] hears our message. All we want is equality … For too long, black people have been treated less like, we have been treated like nothing … We are out here because we are tired … Until the racism ends, this movement will not", the protester said in the midst of a rally in the US capital.

St. John’s church in DC has been set on fire 🤬

pic.twitter.com/uC9maGsbAo

— Mr. Jones™️🇺🇸 (@MrJones_tm) June 1, 2020

At least 240 people were arrested in Chicago during the Saturday George Floyd protests, and more than 20 police officers were injured, according to Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown.

"We should be proud, proud of our police officers who stood shoulder to shoulder and showed great restraint amid these conditions," Brown said at a press conference, broadcast by Chicago police on Twitter. "Let me be clear, last night was not a protest. The people that came downtown were not there to exercise their First Amendment rights," Brown said.

According to the police chief, the protesters came out into the streets to loot and damage property. "This was a mob destroying everything in sight," Brown said.

According to Brown, Chicago police arrested at least 240 people on Saturday, after protests spread throughout the downtown area. More than 20 police officers were wounded, at least two of them sustained injuries that required hospitalization and surgery.

Brown said he had the support of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to use "every tool at our disposal to put an end to these violent acts."

Mayor Bowser is ordering a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia from 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, until 6:00 a.m. on Monday, June 1. She has also activated the DC National Guard to support the Metropolitan Police Department.

— Mayor Muriel Bowser #StayHomeDC Lite (@MayorBowser) May 31, 2020

SANTA MONICA: Looters flee as SWAT team approaches pic.twitter.com/2zKLbZtyuM

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 31, 2020

The total number of arrests following gatherings in central London today is now 23, all for various offences.

They remain in police custody.

The majority of those who attended have now left the area.

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 31, 2020

NOTICE:

At the request of local leaders and in coordination with state and local law enforcement, I’m issuing a statewide Declaration of Emergency, with a curfew in place starting at 8:00 p.m. tonight and effective for one week. 1/

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) May 31, 2020

Meanwhile graffiti protesting the killing of George Floyd can now be seen on streets all over Berlin Kreuzberg and Neukölln https://t.co/4WQV1qAuNl pic.twitter.com/wglmkdYklw

— Coman Hamilton (@comanhamilton) May 31, 2020

Hundreds gathered for #BlackLivesMatter protest at Trafalgar Square. Everyone kneeling, chanting ‘No justice, no peace’ ✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/s6FO9Pl6yX

— jamila squire (@jamsqu) May 31, 2020

Minnesota consistently ranks highly for our public schools, innovation and opportunity, and happiness - if you’re white. If you’re not, the opposite is true. Systemic racism must be addressed if we are to secure justice, peace, and order for all Minnesotans.

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 31, 2020

Inexcusable. My God. A police officer who tear gases a civilian whose hands are up does a dishonor to his colleagues and his city and needs to be brought to justice. https://t.co/zYvEKidJtQ

— Corey Johnson (@CoreyinNYC) May 31, 2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A reporter with the RIA Novosti news agency, who was pepper-sprayed overnight by police in the US city of Minneapolis, said Sunday he was doing fine.

"Everything is OK. The burning sensation is gone. No damage has been done to the eyes", Mikhail Turgiyev said.

The journalist was attacked along with a television crew of the VICE magazine after protesters were dispersed. He said he had identified himself as a member of the press.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said this act of police brutality was uncalled-for. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz later apologised to all journalists who were assaulted during what was the fifth night of violence in Minneapolis sparked by the death in custody of unarmed black man George Floyd.

"Protesting such brutality is right and necessary. It’s an utterly American response. But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not",  Joe Biden, a former US Vice President and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee for the November election said in a statement.

The politician called on US citizens to use their pain and anger to bring the country to "the next phase of progress, inclusion, and opportunity for our great democracy".

NEW: NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea says starting with the first protests there were small groups promoting violence:

"I would liken it to 'hijacking' a peaceful demonstration."

Almost 350 arrests. 30 Injuries to police.

"We have a number of protests scheduled for today."

— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) May 31, 2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien denied on Sunday that there was "systemic racism" in the police force.

"No, I don't think there's systemic racism. I think 99.9 percent of our law enforcement officers are great Americans", O'Brien said on CNN's State of the Union show.

He argued that there were some "bad apples" among police officers who were racist, giving the impression of widespread racism among police forces.

"There is no doubt that there are some racist police, I think they are the minority. I think they are the few bad apples and we need to root them out", O'Brien added.

See some of my pictures of the Confederate monuments in this tweet from early this morning #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter #Richmond pic.twitter.com/0kgoglyEtq

— Erik L. (@eLazzaro_) May 31, 2020

"We're not going to federalise the Guard at this time", Robert O'Brien told reporters. According to him, the decision on the issue should be up to governors and mayors.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A police officer was stabbed in the neck during a George Floyd protest in the US city of Jacksonville, CNN reported on Sunday, citing the local sheriff.

According to Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, the officer was "stabbed or slashed in the neck and is currently in the hospital".

Williams added that rioters threw rocks and bricks at other law enforcement officers during the protests late on Saturday and that many protesters had been detained.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, in turn, told reporters that the protest initially began as a peaceful sit-in with about 1,200 people, but turned violent after respectful families left.

"We're not going to tolerate it in our city or let our city burn to the ground", Curry was quoted as saying by CNN.