Minneapolis

The city of Minneapolis will pay the estate of George Floyd $27 million. The city council on Friday unanimously voted to settle a lawsuit with his family. Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, said that he would return the settlement millions if it meant he could see his brother again.

"I thank the state of Minnesota for getting this settlement taken care of," he said. "But even though my brother is not here, he's here with me in my heart. Because if I could get him back, I would give all of this back.

Fifteen US mayors have addressed a letter to Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf opposing the use of federal federal law enforcement with "no oversight" against protesters. The letter is calling the act of deploying federal forces against protesters an "abuse of power" and is demanding the withdrawal of "extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence" from Portland and other American cities.

"These are tactics we expect from authoritarian regimes -- not our democracy [...] The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked a national uprising and reckoning. The majority of the protests have been peaceful and aimed at improving our communities. Where this is not the case, it still does not justify the use of federal forces. Unilaterally deploying these paramilitary-type forces into our cities is wholly inconsistent with our system of democracy and our most basic values," the letter, posted by Mayor Muriel Bowser, said.

The list of mayors who signed the letter is as follows: Jenny A. Durkan, Seattle; Ted Wheeler, Portland; Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta; Lori Lightfoot, Chicago; Muriel Bowser, Washington DC; Quinton D. Lucas, Kansas City; Martin J. Walsh, Boston; Jim Kenny, Philadelphia; Michael Hancock, Denver; Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles; Sam Liccardo, San Jose; Libby Schaaf, Oakland; Regina Romera, Tucson; Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento; Kate Gallego, Phoenix.

Portland officials had previously stated that federal officers were working in coordination with local law enforcement but have since come out saying that "coordination was not made with Portland police" as the "federal police have their marching order."

According to Chad Wolf, federal law enforcement had only been deployed to Portland. On Monday, Trump vowed to send federal officers to other cities.

On Wednesday, the transcript of former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane's body camera footage detailing the last minutes of George Floyd's life was made public. George Floyd told the police officers over 20 times that he can't breathe, crying out "Mama, I love you. I can't do nothing," and "Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."

Derek Chauvin, the police officer who pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck for over 8 minutes, told Floyd at one point to "stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

The transcripts were released as part of a motion filed by Lane's attorney Earl Gray who seeks to have Lane's charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death dismissed.

Tou Thao, a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd's death, has been released from jail after posting a $750,000 bond. He had been held on $1 million bail with no conditions or $750,000 with conditions.

Thao should appear in court on September 11 on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence.

Now only Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck, is still in custody on $1.25 million bail.

Derek Chauvin, former Minneapolis police officer, is going to make his first appearance in court on Monday afternoon. He has been charged second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his involvement in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin pressed his knee on the neck of Floyd for almost nine minutes.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has announced that the ACLU Minnesota has "filed a class-action lawsuit overnight on behalf of journalists who were targeted and attacked by Minneapolis and Minnesota police". This follows the repeated attacks on journalists from different publishers and agencies by the police during the protests.

A peaceful vigil was held at the site of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. Hundreds of protestors met just hours after George Floyd's brother had visited the site. People gathered in a circle of signs and flowers, many held hands. One of the signs read: "I shouldn’t have to fear for my black children’s future", another: "Stop killing my black brothers and sisters."

According to reports by the Reuters news agency, a reporter and an accompanying security guard have been targeted by police during protests in Minneapolis.

The duo accompanied the police to enforce the curfew when a police officer aimed his gun with rubber bullets at the two of them. When escaping from this reaction, both were most likely seriously injured.

As the protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer enter its seventh day, at least 40 US cities have imposed overnight curfews. Among those cities are Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles and a statewide curfew in Arizona. Washington, DC and at least 23 other cities have activated the National Guard.

An independent autopsy into the death of George Floyd found that the unarmed black found his death was a "homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain," according to attorney Ben Crump.

Crump stated Floyd was "dead on the scene" in Minneapolis on May 25.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested Friday days after a video circulated of him holding his knee to George Floyd's neck for at least eight minutes before Floyd died.

Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington told reporters about Chauvin's arrest shortly after a news conference.

After being detained while filming a live television report from the violent protests in Minneapolis, the CNN crew of three people - correspondent Omar Jimenez, his producer and photojournalist - has been released. CNN has thanked the Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz for intervening and his help for the crew to get released.

CNN has announced via their twitter account that a reporter and his production team have been arrested by the police as they were reporting from the violent protests in Minneapolis. The media company claims that the arrest is a "clear violation of their First Amendment rights" and that the reporter and team had identified themselves as journalists.

After US President Donald J. Trump threatened Minneapolis protestors with "when the looting starts, the shooting starts", Twitter marked his tweet as a violation against Twitter rules. "However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible."

On Thursday night, US President Donald J. Trump took to Twitter to comment on the ongoing protests in Minneapolis, calling the protestors "thugs" who are "dishonoring the memory of George Floyd". According to Trump, Governor Tim Walz has the support of the US military, stating that "any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts".

Trump furthermore criticises Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as "very weak" and "a total lack of leadership".

On Thursday night, protestors entered a Minneapolis police building by force and set multiple fires, following the death of unarmed man George Floyd at the hands of the police. According to John Elder, Minneapolis Police spokesman, staff was evacuated at around 10 p.m.

Following the death of unarmed man George Floyd at the hands of the police, protests have been happening in three U.S. cities. Protests in Minneapolis have escalated in the second night of protests and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued a warning, calling it an "extremely dangerous situation". Footage showed the protesters gathering near the city's 3rd Precinct station and looting nearby stores. Police responded with firing tear gas.

Jacob Frey, Mayor of Minneapolis, confirmed on Tuesday that the four police officers, who are connected to the death of George Floyd, have been fired. In a video released earlier this week, the policemen were shown to kneel on the neck of a black man who later passed away.