Protests quickly spread across the United States and internationally in support of Black Lives Matter. Demonstrations that began on May 26 in Louisville, Kentucky, over the shooting of Breonna Taylor by police officers on March 13 intensified after the May 28 release of the 911 call made by her boyfriend in the moments after the shots were fired. The Louisville protests have continued as part of the nationwide reaction to George Floyd’s death and the subsequent police shooting of David McAtee in Louisville during these protests on June 1. At least twelve major cities declared a curfew on the evening of Saturday, May 30, and as of June 2, governors in 24 states and Washington, D.C, had called in the National Guard, with over 17,000 troops activated. From the beginning of the protests to June 3, at least 11,000 people had been arrested, including all four police officers responsible for the arrest resulting in the death of George Floyd. The mass protests occurred during the global COVID-19 pandemic and health experts as well as political public authorities warned that the protests will likely facilitate an accelerated or rebounding spread of COVID-19 or become a “seeding event” for further coronavirus outbreaks.
Western Culture Under Attack Part 25
