George Floyd live updates: Some White House fencing coming down; brother to testify before Congress

George Floyd’s brother will testify before a House committee Wednesday while a few blocks away crews began disassembling some of the temporary security fencing installed around the White House last week amid protests demanding racial justice and police reform.

On Capitol Hill, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, along with family attorney Ben Crump and other witnesses will discuss the death, policing practices and law enforcement accountability on the day after George Floyd was buried.

At the White House, it was not clear how much of the fencing would be coming down. The temporary fencing on the south side of the White House complex, including the Ellipse, was being removed, a Secret Service spokeswoman said in an email to USA TODAY. The fate of a section near Lafayette Park, historically a location for protests, had not been determined.

A closer look at some recent developments:

• A USA TODAY Network journalist was taken into custody by Delaware State Police Tuesday night while documenting arrests at a protest on Facebook Live. He was later released. It’s not the first time journalists nationwide appear to have been targeted.
• “These attacks on journalists absolutely are unacceptable and absolutely must be stopped,” USA TODAY Network President and USA TODAY Publisher Maribel Wadsworth said about Andre Lamar’s detention.
• Elsewhere: The TV show ‘Cops’ was canceled as shows involving real police officers on the street have come under scrutiny.
• President Donald Trump put forth an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory about the 75-year-old protester in Buffalo who suffered head injuries after being pushed to the ground by police.

Our live blog will be updated throughout the day. For first-in-the-morning updates, sign up for the Daily Briefing. Here’s the latest news:

Workers begin removing some temporary fencing near White House

Flatbed trucks rolled up to temporary security fencing near the White House early Wednesday and began removing some of the barriers built amid protests over the death of George Floyd.

The Secret Service, however, said it was in “continuing discussions” with U.S. Park Police regarding the fencing in and around Lafayette Park, across a square from the front of the building. That area has hosted some of the most contentious demonstrations since Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day. Much of the fencing has been covered in protest signs, and the the National Museum of African American History is trying to determine how to preserve signs and protest-related artifacts from the scene, ABC News reports.

Berkeley, California, votes unanimously to ban use of tear gas

The Berkeley City Council on Tuesday night unanimously voted to outright ban the use of tear gas in the California city, councilmember Rigel Robinson tweeted.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin initially submitted a motion prohibiting the use of tear gas by the police during the COVID-19 pandemic, but councilmember Cheryl Davila motioned for its total abolishment, local news source Berkeleyside reported in their live-tweeting of the meeting.

“The era of militarism is over,” councilmember Ben Bartlett said, according to the site.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines tear gas as “chemical compounds that temporarily make people unable to function by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin.” The riot control agent is banned in wars.

– Elinor Aspegren

USA TODAY Network reporter detained while covering protest in Delaware

A staff photographer/reporter for the USA TODAY Network was detained by Delaware State Police on Tuesday night while covering a protest near the state’s capital.

Andre Lamar, who has covered several demonstrations for The Dover Post since the death of George Floyd, was filming a Facebook Live of police officers detaining several protesters.

The protesters are seen on the ground with their hands behinds their backs, their signs nearby. Lamar can be heard on the video saying, “The police have arrested protesters. We don’t know why they arrested them. They slammed them to the ground.” He is heard asking officers repeatedly why they were being arrested. Lamar was later released from police custody after being held in cell with other protesters.

– Ira Porter and Jordan Culver

San Diego ups police funding by $27M but ‘it won’t be business as usual’

Amid growing calls nationwide to “defund the police” in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, California’s second largest city is doing the opposite.

The San Diego City Council voted 8-1 late Monday to increase funding for its police department after nearly 10 hours of public comment that included some residents demanding to reduce police funding, NBC 7 San Diego reported.

“This is about systemic, generational issues that we must acknowledge and address, and those won’t be solved overnight with a single budget vote,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer told USA TODAY in a statement on Tuesday. “We’re going to keep funding our police department but it won’t be business as usual.”

‘Cops’ canceled by Paramount Network in wake of George Floyd death, protests

After being pulled from the Paramount Network schedule last week in the aftermath of protests over George Floyd’s killing while in police custody, “Cops” has been canceled.

The cable network announced the long-running reality series’ fate in a short statement Tuesday: “‘Cops’ is not on the Paramount Network and we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return.”

“Cops” and other shows featuring real police on the streets, such as A&E’s “Live PD,” have come under new scrutiny in the wake of Floyd’s death on Memorial Day and subsequent national protests about police brutality, racism and mistreatment of black people. 

– Bill Keveney

Florida’s largest city, Jacksonville, removes 122-year-old Confederate monument

In the predawn darkness Tuesday, Mayor Lenny Curry ordered city workers to remove the bronze statue of a Confederate soldier in winter uniform that had hovered above Hemming Park in downtown Jacksonville for more than a century.

Hours later, Curry, pledged to a crowd of peaceful protesters that he would order the removal of all remaining public Confederate monuments throughout the city.

The unannounced move was a remarkable pivot for the city’s Republican mayor who had previously avoided taking a position on the controversy. Just as remarkable is what seems to have played a role in changing Curry’s mind: The voices of NFL players from the Jacksonville Jaguars who have joined protesters in recent days to demand police reform and renewed efforts to tackle inequality in Florida’s most populous city.

– John Reid, Andrew Pantazi, Christopher Hong, Emily Bloch and Nate Monroe, Florida Times-Union

CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman resigns after comments about George Floyd’s death

CrossFit founder Greg Glassman faced major backlash this weekend when the 63-year-old founder of the branded workout program posted a racist tweet mocking the murder of George Floyd and the current coronavirus pandemic. And, now, he is out as CEO.

In response to a tweet about racism being a public health crisis, Glassman tweeted, “It’s FLOYD-19.” The uproar from that tweet led to athletic brand Reebok letting its longtime partnership with CrossFit expire. The brand also saw gyms across the country end their affiliations with CrossFit.

CrossFit eventually released an apology for Glassman, but BuzzFeed News recently recovered audio from Glassman’s staff Zoom call where the now-ex-CrossFit CEO floated conspiracy theories about George Floyd’s murder and said, “We’re not mourning for George Floyd – I don’t think me or any of my staff are.”

Shortly after BuzzFeed published the story, Glassman announced his resignation.

– Andrew Joseph, For The Win

Funeral, burial in Houston mark final goodbye for George Floyd

About 500 invited guests gathered at the Fountain of Praise church Tuesday for the funeral of George Floyd, the final episode in a series of memorials celebrating the life of a man whose death has shaken the world.

Activist Rev. Al Sharpton anchored a lineup of speakers including civil rights leaders, family members and a video address from presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Floyd’s death, after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes, was caught on video that triggered a wave of protests – and could ultimately result in sweeping changes in the nation’s justice system.

 “Why, in this nation, do too many black Americans wake up knowing that they could lose their life in the course of just living their life?” Biden asked. “Why does justice not roll like a river or righteousness like a mighty stream? Why?”

New York state police union rips  ‘legislating by signs in a protest’

State lawmakers in New York are passing bills too quickly to gain political appeal, and New York City leaders are demonizing law enforcement in the aftermath of nationwide George Floyd protests, the president of the city’s police union said Tuesday.

No one’s read the bills. They’re legislating by signs in a protest,” Patrick Lynch said. Law enforcement claims the proposed legislation advocating making police disciplinary files public is a threat to their safety, and the safety of their families. “We deserve to be protected as we protect you,” said Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Elias Husamudeen.

– Khrysgiana Pineda

More on protests, George Floyd:

• Buffalo protester injured:President Trump says the 75-year-old could be ‘ANTIFA provocateur’
• Racial equality:Indianapolis council unanimously declares racism a public health crisis
• NASCAR:A driver will race in #BlackLivesMatter car Wednesday
• Sen. Mitt Romney: President Trump bashes Romney over a Black Lives Matter march
• ‘Defund the police’: What it means and why some say reform is not enough. 
• ‘I don’t want to be a hashtag’: A look back at a turbulent week in DC as told by protesters

Contributing: The Associated Press

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