Black Lives Matter protesters take to the streets of London
Black Lives Matter protesters with signs demanding ‘abolish the police’ and claiming ‘riot is the language of the unheard’ gather in London and promise more demos today as George Floyd violence escalates in US
- Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters marched through Peckham yesterday
- Demonstrators could be seen holding placards saying ‘The UK is not innocent’
- Protests come after demonstrations over the death of a black man, George Floyd
Published: 17:24 EDT, 30 May 2020 | Updated: 07:28 EDT, 31 May 2020
Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets of London on Saturday and promised more demonstrations across the UK today after the death of George Floyd in America.
Footage showed white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on unarmed Floyd’s neck earlier this week. Floyd passed out and later died.
Activists took to the streets in Floyd’s home state Minneapolis – and across the US – to protest what they feel is a systemic problem with police brutality against African-American men.
Yesterday, Britons took to the streets of London with some shouting: ‘The UK is not innocent’.
In Peckham, London, buses and cars were forced to a standstill on Saturday afternoon when hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters furious at the Floyd’s slaying marched along the main road.
Yesterday’s protests were a precursor to a series of demonstrations planned for the next week across Britain by the BLM movement, which will target Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow, as well as London.
Videos posted on social media show groups shouting ‘no justice, no peace’ and ‘stop killing the mandem [friends]’ as they marched and congregated in the south-east London district.
In Peckham, London, buses and cars were forced to a standstill on Saturday afternoon when hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters furious at the Floyd’s slaying marched along the main road
People walked along Rye Lane, Peckham, in south London yesterday during a Black Lives Matter protest
The protests in London followed the death of black man George Floyd in Minneapolis this week
Yesterday’s protests in Peckham (pictured) and North London were a precursor to a series of demonstrations planned for the next week across Britain by the BLM movement
People can be seen marching on a protest against the death of George Floyd in North London today
People hold a banner saying ‘abolish the police’ during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, in North London today
Some of those attending were seen carrying placards reading ‘BLM [Black Lives Matter]’ and ‘solidarity’, while others appeared to call for riots, like those seen in America over the past few days.
‘RIOT is the language of the unheard’, one placard read.
Footage of another protest in North London showed a smaller group of demonstrators marching and carrying a banner reading ‘abolish the police’.
Most of those attending both protests were seen standing closer together than the two-metre recommended to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Many could also be seen without face masks.
Today, the group plan to congregate at Trafalgar Square in central London where demonstrators will ‘kneel for Floyd’.
Pictured: A BLM flyer announcing protest dates in London against the killing of George Floyd
Pictured: BLM flyers announcing protest dates in London against the killing of George Floyd
‘We are doing this to place pressure on the American government and show that this is a world wide issue,’ a banner from the event reads.
Another is booked for next week in front of the US embassy to ‘bring justice for the multiple black people who have been killed and harmed by the police’.
All of the banners remind attendants to wear face masks and maintain social distancing due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Floyd’s death in Minneapolis followed that of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old unarmed black man who was shot dead by two white men in Georgia earlier this month, and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman who was fatally shot by Louisville cops in March.
The killings reignited tensions between law enforcement and the black community in the US causing unrest across the country
New York: A New York City Police Department vehicle burns after being set alight by protesters
Chicago: A Chicago police vehicle is set on fire during violent protests and bricks are hurled at it
Minneapolis: Tear gas and fireworks go off in the streets Saturday night on day five of protests over Floyd’s death
On Monday, white Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on the 46-year-old’s neck until he passed out and later died.
The killings reignited tensions between law enforcement and the black community in the US.
Last night, the outrage continued across the nation as cop cars were torched, stores were looted and at least 11 states activated the National Guard on a fifth night of protests that show no signs of stopping.
In Minneapolis, protesters were seen fleeing after cops hurled tear gas into the crowds while some responded by launching fireworks back at officers.
The National Guard was activated to defend the White House from attack as the Secret Service agents on the ground struggled to keep control of crowds descending on the seat of the US government.
Washington DC: The National Guard was activated to defend the White House from attack as the Secret Service agents on the ground struggled to keep control of crowds descending on the seat of the US government
New York: The Big Apple was ablaze as NYPD vehicles were engulfed in flames while shocking footage emerged of cops violently detaining protesters
New York: A cop car burns in Brooklyn where protest have been held for two nights over Floyd’s death
New York: NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Trump clashed Saturday night over New York’s response to the escalating crisis there
New York: NYPD officers are poised with their batons after Trump praised their response – despite footage showing mutlipel scenes where cops manhandled protesters violently Friday
New York: A vehicle burns near New York’s Union Square as more than a dozen protests spark up across the Big Apple
The Big Apple was ablaze as NYPD vehicles were torched and ransacked while shocking footage emerged of cops violently detaining protesters.
A man was left critically injured in Dallas when he was attacked and stomped on by a group of people when he allegedly tried to defend a store with a large sword.
In Atlanta a cop suffered ‘significant injuries’ when they were hit by an ATV, while in Chicago, a man commandeered a police horse and rode off on it.
Los Angeles deployed the National Guard for the first since the 1992 riots when the police officers who beat up black man Rodney King walked free of all charges and California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in LA County.
New York: A vehicle burns near New York’s Union Square Saturday night
Washington DC: The seat of the government was under threat from protesters
A total of 11 states and the District of Columbia had activated the National Guard by the early hours of Sunday, as law enforcement buckled under the strain of the protests.
States calling for Guard assistance included California, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington state.
Meanwhile at least 25 cities roll out emergency curfews to try to bring rioting and looting under control, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Louisville, Los Angeles, Portland, Columbia, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Seattle.
President Trump has put the Army on notice to deploy to the streets with a four-hour notice – the first time this will have been done in almost 20 years during the 1992 LA riots over the beating of black man Rodney King by cops.
Minnesota – where Floyd died – has born the brunt of the protests which began there Tuesday before fanning out across the country.
Washington DC: The National Guard has been activated to Washington DC to help protect the White House
Washington DC:A protester holds up a sign saying ‘Stop killing us’ as a pack of military police are sen in the background
Washington DC: Demonstrators gesture next to a fire during a rally near the White House
Washington DC: The seat of the government was under threat from protesters leading to the National Guard being activated in Washington DC
Washington DC: Almost 1,000 protesters had surrounded the White House grounds Saturday night
Rioting was still going on in the early hours of Sunday, with the Minneapolis police department reporting a big group of protesters on foot and in vehicles throwing missiles of some sort at cops.
The Minnesota National Guard announced at around 10:30p.m. it was sending 10,800 troops in to tackle protests Saturday night, as pleas for people to observe curfews fell on deaf ears.
The Minnesota National Guard said on Twitter it already had more than 4,100 citizen-soldiers and airmen already in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and was ramping it up to a staggering 10,800.
Washington DC: Protesters engaged in a tense standoff with Secret Service, DC police and US Park Police
Washington DC: A firework is hurled by a protester and explodes by a police line
Washington DC: A park police officer shoots rubber bullets toward demonstrators gathered outside the White House
Washington DC: A car burns in a street near the White House Saturday night
Washington DC: Protesters hold aloft banners and spray flames into the sky as the National guard rolls in
There were just 700 on duty on Friday.
State police officers were seen in their masses surrounding the fifth police precinct Saturday night after officials insisted that the city would be brought under control following four nights of widespread destruction.
A suspected looter being shot dead, businesses being burned to the ground and police officers forced to flee for their lives when a police precinct was stormed and torched.
