Decision made in further charges for officers in Floyd case
Washington: Minnesota Attorney General’s office has completed its review of initial evidence in the investigation of the four police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd and will announce its decision on further charges later this afternoon, CNN reports.
Protesters have demanded all four officers involved be charged in Floyd’s death.
Only one – white officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as he pleaded, “I can’t breathe” – has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Former officers JA Keung and Thomas Lane, who helped Chauvin restrain Floyd, and Tou Thao, have not yet been charged.
Medical examiners have designated the death a homicide, though this is not a legal determination.
Reports challenge Trump’s Antifa claims
Part of a June 1 internal intelligence assessment of the protests viewed by Reuters shows that US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said most of the violence appears to have been driven by opportunists.
Trump has threatened to designate Antifa, a loose conglomeration of anti-fascist activists, as a “terrorist” organisation for allegedly causing violence in the protests.
Reuters cited two unnamed Justice Department officials who said they had seen little to support claims that far-left groups were causing violence.
Secretary of Defense Esper does not support invoking Insurrection Act
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has said during a news conference that he supports the rights of US citizens to protest peacefully and does not support the invocation of the Insurrection Act.
“It is these rights and freedoms that make our country so special. It is these rights and freedoms that American service members are willing to fight and die for,” Esper said in remarks before taking questions.
“I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.
