The screams of "I can't breathe" reach the White House
Protests over the death of African-American citizen George Floyd reached the White House on Friday, where a large group of protesters joined the cry of "I can't breathe."
The initially peaceful mobilization led to skirmishes with the police and Secret Service agents after the arrest of at least two of the protesters, which was answered with plastic bottles thrown by some of those present, according to local media.
"The White House is under orders to close the Secret Service due to protests outside by George Floyd," the correspondent for NBC News, wrote on his Twitter account, indicating that he remained with a dozen reporters inside the west wing. from the US Government headquarters.
The measure was later lifted, The Washington Post newspaper said.
In videos that circulated on social networks, a young man is seen climbing up the bars of the Freedman Bank building, located in front of the presidential residence and where the Office of Foreign Assets Control and other official agencies operate, to paint graffiti against the US President Donald Trump amid applause.
The protesters on more than one occasion tore down some of the barricades installed in front of the White House, which generated some moments of tension.
The protest began with a rally in which the participants, many of them wearing a mask to protect against the coronavirus, chanted "I can't breathe" and even mentioned the death of African-American policeman George Floyd on different posters.
Floyd died last Monday night after being violently detained on suspicion of trying to use a fake $ 20 bill at a supermarket. In videos recorded by passers-by, an agent appears with his knee around his neck for several minutes.
"Please, please, please, I can't breathe. Please," Floyd is heard, dying.
Floyd's "can't breathe" has become the cry of protests in recent days in Minneapolis, which have spread to other parts of the country.
Also in Atlanta protests by this fact were registered, that derived in violent acts.
A crowd gathered in front of the CNN headquarters in Atlanta and threw stones at the facade.
Amid the confusion, several police vehicles that remained parked were also targeted by stones and other blunt objects, and at least one of them was burned.
From this Friday and until Sunday morning, the curfew declared by the mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, known as the "twin" cities because they are only separated by the Mississippi, is in place to appease the protests and riots that have occurred in recent three days for Floyd's death.
The curfew was declared today after a night of riots, with looting and the burning of a police station in Minneapolis.
This Friday the prosecution formally charged Officer Derek Chauvin, the cop who was shot by passers-by in Minneapolis with his knee to Floyd's neck, of third-degree murder and reckless manslaughter.
Hennepin County (Minnesota) District Attorney Mike Freeman filed the charges shortly after the announcement of Chauvin's arrest and explained that he did not do so earlier because he lacked sufficient evidence.
