June 18 Black Lives Matter protest news

A crane removes a confederate monument from Decatur square in Georgia on Friday, June 19.

A crowd of several hundred people gathered Thursday night in Decatur, Georgia to watch the removal of a Confederate monument.

A large crane was moved into place and by 11:15 p.m. ET authorities were securing lines to the statue at the old DeKalb County Courthouse.

As workers readied the monument for removal the crowd could be heard applauding.  

A light police presence was on the scene during the event.  

The statue came down just before 11:30 p.m. as the crowd chanted “Take it down! Take it down!”

A crowd gathers near Deactur square in Georgia to watch a confederate monument be removed.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown said she plans to introduce a bill next year to make Juneteenth a state holiday.

She took to Twitter to proclaim June 19 as Juneteenth in Oregon.

“Celebrating Black freedom this year is fiercely important as people around the world protest systemic racism and undeniably show that Black Lives Matter,” Brown said as she replied to a tweet from Pharrell Williams asking her to “please join Virginia and New York and make Juneteenth a paid holiday in Oregon for state employees.” 

The June 19 holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

Read more about it here:

Pittsburgh residents protest a local police officer's fatal shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose Jr. at a Juneteenth parade in 2018.

Related article What to know about Juneteenth and why people are talking about it now

Paul Howard, Fulton County District Attorney, told CNN’s Don Lemon that the charges brought against the former officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks were “based upon the evidence.”

Garrett Rolfe is facing 11 charges including felony murder in the death of Brooks, Howard said during a news conference Wednesday. Brosnan, who is currently on administrative duty, faces three charges including aggravated assault.

Howard denied that the charges go too far, or that they were a response to the protests.

“I charged based upon the facts. I’m aware that people were very much on edge. This was a horrendous incident, particularly after what had happened to George Floyd and then to have it happen here in Atlanta, and I realize that,” Howard said.

“But you can’t charge someone based upon those conditions. You’ve got to stick to the facts. That’s what we did and that’s the reason that I charged it.”

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After dropping a lawsuit to block the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a group of Richmond, Virginia, residents filed a second suit with adjusted arguments, according to court documents. 

The new lawsuit, filed by six residents who own property on Richmond’s Monument Avenue, claims that the statue’s removal would adversely affect the plaintiffs by nullifying the neighborhood’s status as a National Historic Landmark district, resulting in “the loss of favorable tax treatment and reduction in property values.”

“Plaintiffs will also suffer injury as a result of the loss of a priceless work of art from their neighborhood and the degradation of the internationally recognized avenue on which they reside,” the suit reads.

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The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, covered in graffiti following protests over the death of George Floyd.

Related article Six Virginia residents sue to keep Robert E. Lee statue aloft

A video surveillance camera recorded a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy saving an unresponsive baby from choking during a Black Lives Matter protest last month.

The 11-month-old boy’s mother and another woman were attending the protest on May 31 in Palmdale, California, when the baby became ill, lost consciousness and stopped breathing, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

The women ran across a supermarket parking lot to a group of sheriff’s deputies who were monitoring the protest from across the street.

In the video, Deputy Cameron Kinsey runs toward the women when he realized they were in distress. The mother handed the limp child to Kinsey and after assessing the baby, the sheriff’s department said he “administered a mouth sweep with his finger and dislodged vomit.”

The baby began to breathe again to the relief of everyone there.

Read the full story.

Facebook said it had taken action against ads run by President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign for breaching its policies on hate. The ads, which attacked what the Trump campaign described as “Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups,” featured an upside-down triangle.

The Anti-Defamation League said Thursday the triangle “is practically identical to that used by the Nazi regime to classify political prisoners in concentration camps.”

The hate group to which Facebook was referring in its statement is Nazis, the company confirmed.

Responding to criticism of the ad, the Trump campaign claimed the red triangle was “a symbol widely used by Antifa.”

The ADL said Thursday that some antifa activists have used the symbol, but it is not particularly common.

Read the full story:

Related article Facebook takes down Trump ads 'for violating our policy against organized hate'

Jackson County grand jury indicted Kansas City police officer Eric DeValkenaere in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb in December 2019, according to Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office news release on Thursday.

The grand jury’s indictment, signed today by the foreperson, charges officer Eric DeValkenaere with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for recklessly causing the death of Lamb, who was shot while sitting in his pickup truck as he was backing into his garage.

CNN has reached out to Eric DeValkenaere for comment.

Relatives of Lamb were among several families of black Americans who have been killed by police to meet with President Donald Trump earlier this week.

Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe.

Former Atlanta Police officer Garrett Rolfe has been moved from the Fulton County Jail to another metro-Atlanta facility for security reasons, according to three law enforcement sources.

Rolfe, who faces 11 charges related to the death of Rayshard Brooks, turned himself in to the Fulton County Jail earlier on Thursday.

A top State Department official is resigning from her post over President Donald Trump’s response to the surge of protests against racial injustice and police brutality across the nation, The Washington Post reported Thursday. 

Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, wrote in a resignation letter obtained by the Post that “The President’s comments and actions surrounding racial injustice and Black Americans cut sharply against my core values and convictions.”

“I must follow the dictates of my conscience and resign as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs,” she said. 

Reached for comment, a State Department spokesperson told CNN, “We do not comment on personnel matters.”

Taylor’s resignation comes as Trump continues to lean into his forceful approach to the ongoing demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The gruesome video of Floyd’s killing while in Minneapolis police custody has prompted the kind of soul searching about the role of police in society and systemic racism that many advocates have urged for decades.

Read the full story:

Related article Washington Post: Senior State Department official resigns over Trump's response to nationwide unrest

Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe is expected to be in court on Friday at noon, according to emails sent to CNN from his attorney’s spokesperson and the Fulton County Clerk’s office.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department said earlier today that Rolfe had waived his first appearance. The Fulton County Clerk of Court also said earlier this afternoon no court appearance had been scheduled.

Rolfe faces felony murder and 10 other charges in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks. Rolfe shot Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-thru last week. Prosecutors allege that Rolfe declared, “I got him” after firing the shots and he did not provide medical attention for two minutes and 12 seconds.

Former Atlanta Police officer Devin Brosnan is surrounded by media following his release from the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, June 18, in Atlanta.

In an interview with MSNBC following his release on bond Thursday, Atlanta police officer Devin Brosnan said he’s “looking forward to cooperating with any investigators who are interested in having a conversation about what happened that night.”

Brosnan was booked and released Thursday before the interview.

“I have full faith in the criminal justice system,” Brosnan said, adding that the booking process was quickly completed.

Brosnan’s attorney Don Samuel told MSNBC that there “seems to be misunderstanding on the prosecutors’ part.”

“He’s a defendant, he’s not going to answer the DA’s questions while they bring false charges against him,” Samuel said.

Samuel said Brosnan has been fully cooperative with all investigators and plans on meeting with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation next week.

Asked if Brosnan had anything he wanted to say to the family of Rayshard Brooks, he said, “I think this is a tragic event.”

“It’s a total tragedy that a man had to lose his life that night,” he added.

Brosnan said during his initial encounter with Brooks, he thought he was “friendly, respectful.”

“I felt like he was potentially someone that needed my help. And I was really just there to see what I could do to make sure that he was safe,” Brosnan said.

In this April 25 photograph, a small Mississippi state flag is held by a participant during a drive-by "re-open Mississippi" protest past the Governor's Mansion, in the background, in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is calling for the state of Mississippi to change its flag saying it wants student-athletes to be able to compete in an inclusive environment.

“It is past time for change to be made to the flag of the State of Mississippi. Our students deserve an opportunity to learn and compete in environment that are inclusive and welcoming to all,” Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement.

The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State are both members of the Southeastern Conference.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf called the effigy found near Lake Merritt “a deliberate and vile attempt to traumatize and divide Oaklanders.”

The effigy was found hanging in a tree near Lake Merritt on Thursday morning by a resident, according to a statement from the Oakland Police Department. The resident removed the effigy from the tree and called police, the statement said.

Police officers found “material stuffed in the shape of a human body with a rope tied around the torso and neck, laying on the ground next to a tree with an American flag lying next to it,” the statement said.

Some context: The effigy was found a day after a hate crime investigation was opened into nooses found on trees in Oakland, California, according to police.

The FBI is investigating the effigy as a hate crime, Schaaf said.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra weighed in on the incident, calling it “chilling.”

“I’ve got to tell you it doesn’t help circumstances. Everyone’s on edge. There are a lot of people who are very frightened. A lot of people are courageous and peacefully protesting. To see these things just doesn’t help,” he told CNN on Thursday.

The California Attorney General’s office is investigating the death of a 24-year-old black man who was found hanging from a tree in northern Los Angeles County.

Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe.

Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe has waived his first court appearance, Tracy Flanagan, a spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff Office, told CNN.

The Fulton County Court of Clerks office said at this point, no court proceedings have been scheduled for the case. 

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Wednesday that it is unlikely the case would be presented to a grand jury before January. 

Some background: Rolfe faces felony murder and 10 other charges after he shot Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-thru last week. Prosecutors allege that he declared, “I got him” after firing the shots and he did not provide medical attention for two minutes and 12 seconds.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard expressed surprise that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a statement Wednesday saying the agency wasn’t informed ahead of his announcement to charge former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe and officer Devin Brosnan.

Rolfe is facing 11 charges including felony murder in the death of Rayshard Brooks, Howard said during a news conference Wednesday. Brosnan, who is currently on administrative duty, faces three charges including aggravated assault.

Howard said he was “mystified that they released the statement about us not consulting with them.”

“I really don’t see the purpose of it, and the district attorney is the person who makes the decision as to whether or not the case goes forward, and that’s what we did on yesterday,” Howard added.

Watch:

Rayshard Brooks.

Rayshard Brooks’ viewing will be held on June 22 at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The viewing will be from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET, according to information from the office of L. Chris Stewart Trial Attorneys.

The viewing is open to the public, however no cameras will be allowed inside. Social distancing guidelines will be followed and masks will be required.  

Brooks’ funeral will be held June 23 at 1 p.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Seating will be by invitation only. The funeral is not open to the public or media. The funeral will be live streamed by pool video.

Social distancing guidelines will be followed and masks will be required. 

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer today that they are “not asking for the death penalty” in the case against a former Atlanta police officer who is charged in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

“We simply cited that because statutorily, that is one of the possible sentences, but we’re not seeking the death penalty. I don’t think anyone rationally expected that we would ask for the death penalty in this case,” he said. 

Asked about critics saying he overcharged the officers at the center of Brooks’ death, Howard said, “That’s just not true. What we did is we charged based up on the facts.”

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Vince Champion, the Southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, told CNN that “the union specifically” has received death threats over the past couple of days. 

One of the threats warned that to be “very careful because we know where your office is,” Champion said while describing the threats.

Champion said he’s been in law enforcement for “30 years, so I’m used to getting death threats but my employees are not.”

“Some of my employees who are law enforcement, you know, dealt with some kind of similar stuff, but others are just, you know, everyday people trying to do a job. They shouldn’t have to go through this,” Champion added.  

Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, June 17, in Atlanta.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard says he’s “received some threats” following charges he made Wednesday against the two Atlanta police officers at the center of the Rayshard Brooks case.

Howard said he and his office will “continue to do what we think is right.”

“If a police officer is involved with misconduct, we’re going to go forward with it. But if the police officer is not involved in misconduct, we want to, with the same attitude, tell the community that the officers were right,” Howard added.

On Wednesday: Howard announced the charges filed against the police officers involved in the shooting of Brooks in a Wendy’s parking lot in Atlanta.

Former officer Garrett Rolfe is facing 11 charges including felony murder. Officer Devin Brosnan, who is currently on administrative duty, faces three charges including aggravated assault.

Watch:

Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe.

The two officers at the heart of the investigation into the death of Rayshard Brooks turned themselves into authorities after being charged Wednesday by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.

Catch up on the other big developments in the Brooks case: