Rage engulfs U.S. cities

Mayors and governors across the United States declared states of emergency, deployed National Guard troops, and set curfews Saturday, but people still took to the streets in fury over the deaths of African Americans in police custody. By Saturday night, police had arrested at least 1,400 protesters in various cities, some of them for attempted murder of police officers. Rioters and bystanders sustained injuries in the chaos. Businesses and vehicles went up in flames.

What do the protesters want? Anger over the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck on Monday, sparked the unrest. On Friday, investigators charged Chauvin with manslaughter and third-degree murder. Three other officers involved in the incident were fired. Demonstrators are now making general calls for justice, police accountability for acts of brutality, and an end to the oppression of minorities. Meanwhile, state and local leaders and President Donald Trump have condemned the violence and appealed to the public for calm. “We support the right of peaceful protesters, and we hear their pleas,” Trump said Saturday in a speech at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. “But what we are now seeing on the streets of our cities has nothing to do with justice or with peace.”

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger’s report on the life of George Floyd.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.