June 12 Black Lives Matter protests

The Kentucky Historical Properties Advisory Commission voted today to remove the statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, from Kentucky's Capitol Rotunda.

In a meeting convened at the request of Gov. Andy Beshear, the commission discussed the reasons for removing the statue as well as the history of its placement in the rotunda. 

The motion requested the removal of the statue and to move it to Davis' birthplace in Fairview at the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site.

The measure passed by an 11-1 vote. 

Statues coming down across the US: On Wednesday, a crowd of protesters in Richmond, Virginia, brought down the statue of Davis, CNN affiliate WRIC reported.

Davis was the president of the Confederate states during the Civil War. It was the second statue to come down in Richmond in two days.

Confederate statue Johnny Reb was taken down by two construction cranes Friday morning in Norfolk, Virginia, according to the city’s communications office.

The bronze statue stands nearly 16 feet tall and weighs approximately 1,500 pounds, the city said. 

A public hearing is planned for July 7 to decide what to do with the statue and monument, according to the city. 

“The City of Norfolk reiterates Mayor Alexander’s call for continued peaceful protests at this site and other locations within the City,” the statement said.

The vast majority of cases against peaceful demonstrators who were arrested during recent protests in St. Paul will be dismissed, St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olsen announced at a news conference Friday.

For individuals whose conduct goes beyond peaceful protest, the city's attorney's office said they may offer alternatives to traditional prosecution through restorative justice programs.

New York City shouldn’t reconsider a committee decision to keep the Christopher Columbus statue near Central Park in place, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news conference Friday.  

Asked if he was concerned about residents taking matters into their own hands, de Blasio said, “the important point is that we as a city need to move forward on so many fronts,” and itemized priorities for the city: keeping people safe, get people back their livelihood, and addressing police reform. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday defended the statue, saying it represents the "Italian-American contribution in New York."

What this is about: In January 2018, the Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments and Markers recommended the city keep the monument in place and take additional measures to promote public dialogue about the polarizing figure.

“The Commission believes that when a monument under review incites polarizing debate, the City should facilitate more public dialogue through a number of actions and then reevaluate the situation after a period of time," the commission said in their report to the city.

Those additional actions included commissioning new monuments “for groups of people that have been left out,” temporary artworks in response to the legacies and histories represented by Christopher Columbus and the annual recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day.

As Confederate statues come down around the country, some of Columbus are also being dismounted. Columbus has long been a contentious figure in history for his treatment of the Indigenous communities he encountered and for his role in the violent colonization at their expense.

President Trump said “in general” he supports a ban on choke holds for police officers, but that in some cases they may be necessary.

“You’ve got somebody in a chokehold, what are you going to do?,” Trump continued. “Let go and say, ‘let's start over, I’m not allowed to have you in a chokehold?’ it's a tough situation.”

“I think the concept of chokeholds sounds so innocent and so perfect. If it's two on one, that's a bit of a different story, depending,” he said. “I think it would be a very good thing, generally speaking, it should be ended.”

Regulations on police officers performing chokeholds could be local, the President said, but the federal government, “can certainly make recommendations, and very strong recommendations.”

The President's comments come as Democrats and Republicans in Congress are working on legislative proposals aimed at curbing police brutality and misconduct. The top Republican in the US House of Representatives said Thursday he would support a chokehold ban, a proposal currently included in the House Democrats' draft bill. 

WATCH:

President Trump said he did not schedule his first rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic on Juneteenth “on purpose.”

Trump was interviewed by Fox News host Harris Faulkner on Thursday, when the President visited Dallas to host a roundtable with law enforcement and community leaders in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers.

In newly aired interview footage, Faulkner asked, “Your rally is set for June 19th. Was that on purpose?”

“Uh, no, but I know exactly what you’re going to say. … Think about it as a celebration. My rally is a celebration,” Trump responded, adding, “Don’t think about it as an inconvenience.”

The President will hold his first campaign reelection rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic on June 19 — the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

“The fact that I’m having a rally on that day — you can really think about that very positively as a celebration. Because a rally to me is a celebration,” Trump continued. “It’s an interesting date. It wasn’t done for that reason, but it’s an interesting date."

A moment of silence was held in honor of George Floyd during Friday's special legislative session in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

"Please join me for a moment of silence in memory of George Perry Floyd, for eight minutes and 46 seconds," Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman said.

Gov. Tim Walz convened the special session with police reform and the economy on the top of his priorities.

The Minneapolis City Council has unanimously voted to terminate the declaration of local emergency due to civil disturbances in the city following the killing of George Floyd. 

Mayor Jacob Frey declared a local emergency on May 28 when the city requested assistance from the state and authorization of the National Guard in Minneapolis. 

"There's no negative consequences anticipated by ending" the declaration, said council member Linea Palmisano who authored the resolution.

"We checked with (Federal Emergency Management Agency), we checked with the state, there are no negative impacts," Palmisano said. 

The Minneapolis City Council has unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that evaluates how policing is handled in the city moving forward.

The measure starts a year-long process aimed at creating a new model for public safety in the city, all 12 members are co-authors of the resolution. 

The resolution "describes the history of police violence and use of excessive force in our community, it talks about the financial liability we've experienced and related to those use of force," said Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender.

The measure also highlights the work of Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, "and the importance of his leadership." Bender said.