All articles tagged with #george floyd protests
At least 15 FBI agents were dismissed over their conduct during the 2020 George Floyd protests, with the FBI citing personnel matters, while the FBI Agents Association condemned the firings as unlawful and damaging to trust and expertise within the bureau.
The FBI has dismissed up to 20 agents, including those involved in a 2020 incident where agents knelt with protesters during George Floyd protests, as part of a broader effort to remove what the agency considers 'woke' elements, amid internal reviews and leadership changes.
President Trump responded to protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids by deploying thousands of National Guard and Marines, citing prevention of city destruction and warning of potential use of the Insurrection Act if protests escalate, driven by a desire to avoid a repeat of 2020 unrest and to enforce immigration policies amid widespread protests and legal challenges.
President Biden, speaking to Black voters in Philadelphia, criticized former President Trump for wanting to tear gas peaceful protesters during the George Floyd demonstrations in 2020. Biden highlighted his administration's efforts to improve the lives of Black Americans and questioned how Trump would have reacted if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol on January 6. The White House did not immediately clarify Biden's remarks about the protests being peaceful.
The prosecutor in Austin, Texas, dismissed 17 indictments against police officers for their tactics during the 2020 George Floyd protests, while city officials are calling for a federal investigation into the Austin Police Department. The Travis County District Attorney will continue prosecuting four officers and has requested the Justice Department to conduct a "pattern-or-practice" investigation into the department's crowd control actions. The city has already paid over $18 million to settle civil lawsuits related to the protests, with eight suits still pending. The officers' lawyers claim the case was political and should have been a civil lawsuit instead.
The city of Denver has approved a $4.7 million settlement for protesters who were detained for violating an emergency curfew during demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd in 2020. The settlement resolves a class-action lawsuit accusing Denver police officers of using excessive force. This is the second major victory for protesters who criticized the Denver Police Department's handling of the 2020 demonstrations, following a $14 million damages award in a civil case last year. The plaintiffs include union organizers, a lawyer, a former U.S. Marine, a journalist, a software engineer, and a business owner. The settlement ends a legal process involving separate cases that were later merged into one.
Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the world, has been renamed Fort Liberty, dropping its Confederate namesake once and for all. The change is part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after Confederate soldiers. Nine bases across the country are being renamed at a cost of $39 million. While some veterans see it as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective black service members, others disagree with the name change.
Fort Bragg has been officially renamed Fort Liberty in a ceremony that some veterans said was a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members. The change was part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after Confederate soldiers. The cost to rename Fort Bragg will total about $8 million, and most front-facing signage has been changed but the process is ongoing.
Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the world, has been renamed Fort Liberty as part of a Department of Defense initiative to rename military installations that had been named after Confederate soldiers. The renaming ceremony was seen as a small but important step in making the US Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members. The cost to rename Fort Bragg will total about $6.37 million, and the next installation to change its name will be Fort Polk in Louisiana.
The FBI improperly used its warrantless search powers 278,000 times in 2021, including surveillance of George Floyd protesters and those involved in the Jan 6 riot at the US Capitol building. The FBI attributed the issue to querying procedures, which have since been changed. The findings are likely to fuel criticism of the bureau's handling of various cases and investigations.
The FBI improperly searched an intelligence database for information on suspects in the January 6 Capitol riot and people arrested at 2020 protests after the police killing of George Floyd, according to a court opinion. The FBI searches were not “reasonably likely” to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of a crime, Justice Department officials who reviewed the searches concluded. The FBI was using authorities granted by a 2008 intelligence law that allows the bureau to search a vast database that gathers phone calls and text messages of foreign targets overseas from US telecommunications providers. The program, known as Section 702, will expire at the end of this year unless Congress renews it.
The FBI conducted improper searches of intelligence gathered through a foreign spying law to obtain information on individuals suspected of involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the George Floyd protests, according to a court opinion released on Friday.
The City of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $9.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 343 plaintiffs who alleged that police used excessive force during the George Floyd protests in 2020. The settlement also includes the city disengaging from the 1033 program, which arms state and local law enforcement with military weapons and equipment. The city will also provide a grant for free mental health counseling and community-led programming. The settlement did not include an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the defendants.