On the morning of May 28, white Minneapolis police officers arrested Omar Jimenez, a reporter for CNN, and his crew while they were filming the protests. Jiminez is black. Jiminez told the officers that he and his crew were journalists and offered to move further away, but the officers arrested them anyway. They were released later that day. The governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, apologized to CNN, and said publicly that Jiminez and his crew had only been doing their jobs and acting within their rights. A white CNN reporter who had been working a block away from Jiminez noted that he had not been bothered by the police, only asked who he was.
Protests continued into Friday, May 29, with protesters approaching the White House in Washington, D.C. and pulling away temporary fences. Some of the protesters threw bricks at the officers, which included United States Secret Service and United States Park Police.
During the protests, people donated large amounts of money to black-led political groups, especially bail funds.
In June, George Floyd's brother, Philonese Floyd, asked the United Nations Human Rights Commission to make a team to study the killing of black people by the American police.
On Thursday May 28, Governor Tim Walz called for change: "It is time to rebuild. Rebuild the city, rebuild our justice system, and rebuild the relationship between law enforcement and those they're charged to protect. George Floyd's death should lead to justice and systemic change, not more death and destruction."
After the arrest of CNN reporter Omar Jiminez, Walz apologized to CNN, saying "I take full responsibility."
Walz also told the National Guard to be ready to come to the twin cities if they were needed and put the city under an 8:00 p.m. curfew. He said he thought the worst looters were probably outsiders who came from the city to hide in the crowds and cause problems.
President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he had asked the FBI do an investigation, adding, "My heart goes out to George's family and friends. Justice will be served!" Trump also called Floyd's death as "Sad and Tragic."
Later, President Donald Trump called the protesters of the killing "thugs" and said "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." Twitter hid the post because it broke their rules about presenting violence as good. On May 30, Trump complimented the Secret Service agents who had kept the protesters away from the White House, saying the Service had "vicious dogs and the most ominous weapons." He also posted on Twitter suggesting that his supporters stage a counter-protest: "Tonight, I understand, is MAGA NIGHT AT THE WHITE HOUSE???" "MAGA" is an acronym for the Trump slogan "Make America Great Again."
Joe Biden was not president in 2020 when Floyd was killed but he was president in 2021 during the trial of Derek Chauvin. In April 2021, he said the guilty verdict was a "giant step forward in the march toward justice in America," but "much too rare." Before he became President, Biden had promised to make a police commission for the whole country during his first 100 days as president, but he had not done so as of April 2021.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowswer would write, also on Twitter: "While [Trump] hides behind his fence afraid/alone, I stand w/ people peacefully exercising their First Amendment Right after the murder of #GeorgeFloyd & hundreds of years of institutional racism," she wrote. "There are no vicious dogs & ominous weapons. There is just a scared man."
Former Florida congressman Carlos Cubelo, a Republican, said, "The president seems more out-of-touch and detached from the difficult reality the country is living than ever before."
On June 2, after days of protests, Governor Walz announced the Minnesota Department of Human Rights would investigate the Minneapolis police department to see if the police in general were mistreating people of color. The Minneapolis City Council agreed, saying, "We urge the state to use its full weight to hold the Minneapolis Police Department accountable for any and all abuses of power and harms to our community and stand ready to aid in this process as full partners."
On June 5, Minneapolis announced a new rule saying the police were not allowed to use chokeholds on people.
The Minnesota state legislature attempted to write a new law that would redesign all police departments, but the Democrats wanted large changes to policing and the Republicans wanted small changes, and they could not agree in time for any new bill to become law.
George Floyd
"For his death, see Murder of George Floyd."
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 - May 25, 2020) was an African American man who was murdered by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for almost 8 minutes Many people were sad and angry about his death, which led to many protests in order to stop violence and racism against Black people.
George Floyd was born in North Carolina. He grew up in Houston, Texas. He played football and basketball throughout high school and college. He held several jobs, and he was also a hip hop artist and a mentor in his religious community. Between 1997 and 2005, he was convicted of eight crimes; in 2009, he accepted a plea bargain for a 2007 armed robbery, serving four years in prison. In 2014, he moved to Minneapolis, finding work as a truck driver and a bouncer. In 2020, he lost his security job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
George Floyd was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina to George Perry and Larcenia "Cissy" Jones Floyd. He had four brothers and sisters.
When he was 2, he and his brothers and sisters moved with their mother to Houston, Texas. They lived in public housing in the Third Ward, which is one of Houston's poorest neighborhoods. He was called Perry.
He played basketball and American football in high school.
Floyd went to South Florida Community College for two years on a football scholarship. He then transferred to Texas A&M University–Kingsville in 1995 before dropping out.
Some people called Floyd a "gentle giant." He was tall and weighed .
Floyd returned to Houston in 1995 and became an automotive customizer and played club basketball. He performed as a rapper from 1994 to 1997 using the stage name Big Floyd in the hip hop group Screwed Up Click.
Floyd had many jobs. He got into trouble with the law several times. From 1997 to 2005, he went to prison 8 times. Some of the things he went to jail for were drug possession, theft and home invasion.
After he left jail, Floyd tried to turn his life around. He mentored other young men as part of a church group so they would not make do the same bad things he did. He also helped his mother out after she had a stroke.
In 2014, Floyd moved to Minneapolis to find work. There, he was a bouncer, truck driver, and security guard.
In 2020, he lost his job as a security guard because the bar where he worked at shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, he got COVID-19 but got better.
Floyd had 5 children and 2 grandchildren. His youngest daughter, Gianna, lives in Houston with his former partner. A GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Floyd's funeral costs and benefit his family made the site's record for the most individual donations.