June 1 George Floyd protest news

The two Atlanta police officers who were fired for using excessive force against two protesters said they had tased the couple over concerns they were armed.

The incident happened in Atlanta, Georgia, late Saturday night during protests against the death of George Floyd. Video of the confrontation show two young college students in their car, before being tased by police.

Officer statements: The officer who tased the male driver said, "“The driver started grabbing his right pocket area, causing me to us (sic) my ECW (Electronic Conductive Weapon) on him.”  

The officer who tased the female passenger said he gave verbal commands to the female to, “show her hands and stop resisting.” He also wrote he “heard officers say ‘gun’ two-three times,” according to the report.  

They were fired after the incident: The two officers have been fired, and three other officers involved are now on desk duty pending further determination of disciplinary action, said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

“There clearly was a use of excessive force,” she said. “We understand that our officers are working very long hours under an enormous amount of stress. But we also understand that the use of excessive force is never acceptable."

The mayor of Oklahoma City has enacted a curfew for downtown areas, from 10 p.m. local time until 5 a.m. Monday morning.

City police said on Twitter that a crowd near police headquarters was being dispersed, after the protests became non-peaceful and objects were thrown at officers.

Police are now calling it an “unlawful assembly” and telling protestors to disband.

Bogdan Vechirko, the man who drove a tanker truck into a crowd of protesters on a Minnesota interstate on Sunday night, has been charged with assault, according to records at the Hennepin County Jail.

The incident took place on the I-35W bridge. Aerial video from CNN affiliate WCCO appears to show Vechirko in a scrum with protesters as officers took him away, and law enforcement said he was treated at a hospital. A mugshot of Vechirko shows what appear to be minor injuries to his nose and eyes.

It appears no protesters were hurt, said the Department of Public Safety, which described Vechirko’s actions as “inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators.” 

Vechirko is now being held without bail.

In a statement on Sunday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh thanked peaceful protesters in the city but criticized those who committed "destruction and violence."

His statement said:

He also thanked the city's police and public safety agencies for their work.

The White House tonight has cautioned staffers who must come to work Monday to hide their passes until they reach a Secret Service entry point and to hide them as they leave, in an email viewed by CNN.

The email repeated mandates for maximum telework status, and said there is still an “elevated security posture” due to the protests. 

“If you must come to the complex, keep your pass and PIV cars hidden until you reach a USSS (United States Secret Service) entry point,” said the email. 

The National Guard has been deployed in multiple major cities around the US rocked by protests on Sunday night.

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee has authorized the deployment of the National Guard to Murfreesboro, saying the protests there are "no longer peaceful" and are threatening public safety.

In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee activated 200 additional members of the state's National Guard to Bellevue, east of Seattle. The National Guard would help protect property, manage crowds and traffic, and respond to looting, he said.

In Minnesota, the state's National Guard is deployed on 29 missions, said Minnesota National Guard Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen earlier this evening.

As of Sunday morning, approximately 5,000 National Guard members had been activated in 15 states and Washington, DC, with another 2,000 prepared to activate if needed.

Manhattan was still full of protesters as night fell on Sunday.

A large group of protesters came over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan earlier in the day, moving north through Soho, where several arrests were made.

Then they arrived in Union Square. A car was set on fire near 12th street, and protesters faced off with riot police in full gear. Tensions are high, with protesters chanting "Shame" and other slogans at the police.

Stores around Manhattan are boarded up today, after the destruction of the past few days. A bank near Union Square has had its windows smashed, said CNN crime correspondent Shimon Prokupecz, reporting from the scene.

"I've covered protests in New York City. I covered it during the Eric Garner (protests). I covered occupy Wall Street. You never saw the elements that we're seeing here," he said.

Chiara de Blasio, the daughter of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, was arrested on Saturday night alongside protesters, according to police sources.

She was arrested near Greenwich Village for unlawful assembly and was later released, police sources said.

CNN has reached out to NYC Mayor de Blasio’s office for comment.

As protesters gathered outside the White House Friday night in Washington, President Trump was briefly taken to the White House underground bunker for a period of time, according to a White House official and a law enforcement source.

He was there for a little under an hour before being brought upstairs.

A law enforcement source and another source familiar with the matter told CNN that Melania and Barron Trump were also taken to the bunker.

The law enforcement source familiar with protocol said that if authorities moved Trump they would move all protectees, meaning Melania and Barron.

The separate source said, “If the condition at the White House is elevated to RED and the President is moved to the EOC (Emergency Operations Center, below the East Wing), Melania Trump, Barron Trump and any other first family members would be moved as well.”

Trump has repeatedly praised the Secret Service for its handling of the protests outside the White House Friday night.