buzzfeed--2020-06-03--After Trump's Ukraine Scandal, Congress Is Moving To Strengthen Whistleblower Protections

WASHINGTON — Congress is working on strengthening the laws that allow employees at US spy agencies to blow the whistle on wrongdoing , following efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to expose and attack the intelligence official whose complaint sparked Trump ’ s impeachment .
The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee , which oversees the nation ’ s intelligence apparatus , has written bipartisan legislation that would fix gaps in the whistleblower process , BuzzFeed News has learned .
The bill contains four main provisions on the topic , including one explicitly banning the leaking of a whistleblower ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those sections provided by a Democratic committee aide .
The new measures , which the committee approved behind closed doors on Wednesday , are the result of an inquiry the committee undertook in September .
The inquiry began after the Trump administration withheld the whistleblower complaint about the president ’ s interactions with Ukraine from Congress , despite a law requiring that the country ’ s top intelligence official turn it over to lawmakers .
Though not yet final , the provisions could be viewed as another rebuke to Trump from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Russia investigation .
Trump had sought to reveal the identity of the Ukraine whistleblower and dubbed the broader whistleblower process a “ racket.
” A spokesperson for North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr , committee chair up until last month , declined to comment .
A spokesperson for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio , the acting chair , did not return a request for comment .
The provisions are contained in the Senate ’ s yearly intelligence bill , which provides funding to the government ’ s spy agencies and authorizes their activities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bill passed the committee by a vote of 14 to 1 on Wednesday .
“ This bill takes key steps to improve our national security , including investments in 5G technology , reforms to our security clearance process , and important protections for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing within the IC , ” Virginia Sen. Mark Warner , the committee vice chair , said in a statement afterward .
The House Intelligence Committee is planning to include added protections for whistleblowers in its version of this year ’ s Intelligence Authorization Act as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bill in July , the committee 's chair , Adam Schiff , confirmed to BuzzFeed News .
The House version of the bill will also seek to add protections for government watchdogs , according to Schiff .
Trump has dismissed several of them in recent weeks , including the intelligence community inspector general who handled the Ukraine complaint and the State Department inspector general , who was reportedly investigating allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had used department resources for personal reasons .
“ Whistleblowers and inspectors general provide a critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oversight of the federal government , ” Schiff said in a statement .
“ In light of this administration ’ s continued attacks on whistleblowers , inspectors general and other independent oversight mechanisms , we will continue to work to strengthen laws that ensure the integrity and independence of the Intelligence Community and associated oversight mechanisms in this year ’ s IAA.
” Though concerns about the intelligence community ’ s whistleblower process are nothing new , the events leading up to the impeachment inquiry shined a light on a system that advocates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for years .
“ You have this intelligence community system that hadn ’ t really been battle-tested in a major public way , ” said Irvin McCullough , a national security analyst at the Government Accountability Project who specializes in whistleblowing inside the intelligence agencies and military .
“ The Ukraine case was one of the first major public tests of this system , but that doesn ’ t mean there wasn ’ t a lot of stuff going on beforehand.
” In September , then–intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson revealed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acting director of national intelligence , had withheld the complaint from Congress , despite the fact that Atkinson had determined that the complaint met the legal threshold to share it with lawmakers .
Instead , Maguire consulted with the White House — even though the complaint was about the president — and the Department of Justice , which issued an Office of Legal Counsel opinion contradicting Atkinson .
The Intelligence committees eventually received the full complaint , but some lawmakers were concerned about the process .
Maguire and Atkinson — whom the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before both committees .

WASHINGTON — Congress is working on strengthening the laws that allow employees at US spy agencies to blow the whistle on wrongdoing, following efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to expose and attack the intelligence official whose complaint sparked Trump’s impeachment.
The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee, which oversees the nation’s intelligence apparatus, has written bipartisan legislation that would fix gaps in the whistleblower process, BuzzFeed News has learned. The bill contains four main provisions on the topic, including one explicitly banning the leaking of a whistleblower’s identity, according to a summary of those sections provided by a Democratic committee aide.
The new measures, which the committee approved behind closed doors on Wednesday, are the result of an inquiry the committee undertook in September. The inquiry began after the Trump administration withheld the whistleblower complaint about the president’s interactions with Ukraine from Congress, despite a law requiring that the country’s top intelligence official turn it over to lawmakers.
Though not yet final, the provisions could be viewed as another rebuke to Trump from a committee that previously subpoenaed his son during the Russia investigation. Trump had sought to reveal the identity of the Ukraine whistleblower and dubbed the broader whistleblower process a “racket.”
A spokesperson for North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, committee chair up until last month, declined to comment. A spokesperson for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the acting chair, did not return a request for comment.
The provisions are contained in the Senate’s yearly intelligence bill, which provides funding to the government’s spy agencies and authorizes their activities. Known as the Intelligence Authorization Act, the bill passed the committee by a vote of 14 to 1 on Wednesday.
“This bill takes key steps to improve our national security, including investments in 5G technology, reforms to our security clearance process, and important protections for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing within the IC,” Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the committee vice chair, said in a statement afterward.
The House Intelligence Committee is planning to include added protections for whistleblowers in its version of this year’s Intelligence Authorization Act as well and will debate and vote on the bill in July, the committee's chair, Adam Schiff, confirmed to BuzzFeed News.
The House version of the bill will also seek to add protections for government watchdogs, according to Schiff. Trump has dismissed several of them in recent weeks, including the intelligence community inspector general who handled the Ukraine complaint and the State Department inspector general, who was reportedly investigating allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had used department resources for personal reasons.
“Whistleblowers and inspectors general provide a critical channel in exposing misconduct and supporting independent oversight of the federal government,” Schiff said in a statement.
“In light of this administration’s continued attacks on whistleblowers, inspectors general and other independent oversight mechanisms, we will continue to work to strengthen laws that ensure the integrity and independence of the Intelligence Community and associated oversight mechanisms in this year’s IAA.”
Though concerns about the intelligence community’s whistleblower process are nothing new, the events leading up to the impeachment inquiry shined a light on a system that advocates and lawmakers have been trying to improve for years.
“You have this intelligence community system that hadn’t really been battle-tested in a major public way,” said Irvin McCullough, a national security analyst at the Government Accountability Project who specializes in whistleblowing inside the intelligence agencies and military.
“The Ukraine case was one of the first major public tests of this system, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of stuff going on beforehand.”
In September, then–intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson revealed to Congress that Joseph Maguire, then the acting director of national intelligence, had withheld the complaint from Congress, despite the fact that Atkinson had determined that the complaint met the legal threshold to share it with lawmakers. Instead, Maguire consulted with the White House — even though the complaint was about the president — and the Department of Justice, which issued an Office of Legal Counsel opinion contradicting Atkinson.
The Intelligence committees eventually received the full complaint, but some lawmakers were concerned about the process. Maguire and Atkinson — whom the president fired in April — testified for hours before both committees.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--Find The Police And Military Planes That Monitored The Protests In Your City With These Maps

As protests against police brutality ramped up across the nation , aircraft operated by law enforcement and the National Guard were flying overhead .
As crowds protesting police brutality swelled in cities across the United States this weekend , law enforcement agencies and the National Guard took to the skies — watching from hundreds of helicopters and planes circling overhead .
Surveillance planes are always in action over the nation .
To give an overview of the airborne response to the current civil unrest , we mapped flights by local police , state and federal law enforcement , and military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday , May 29 , to 7 p.m. Central Time on Sunday , May 31 .
The locations of large demonstrations coincided with the most intense aircraft activity .
We identified law enforcement aircraft from information on their operators in the Federal Aviation Administration ’ s registration database and tracked them using signals from the planes ’ transponders compiled at the crowdsourced flight-tracking website ADS-B Exchange .
( We assumed planes registered to cities or counties were used for law enforcement unless the registration information identified them as dedicated to another purpose , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Unlike commercial sites , ADS-B Exchange doesn ’ t follow requests to block aircraft from being tracked , so it can give a more complete picture of surveillance activity .
It also flags aircraft operated by the US military , including National Guard units , so we recorded all military flights over the nation .
Most were not over major cities , but some military helicopters did fly over the protests .
In the maps below , click or tap on any flight path for more information on the aircraft involved .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ George Floyd was killed while in police custody on May 25 .
In addition to helicopters operated by the Minnesota State Patrol , we detected two military Black Hawk helicopters over Minneapolis that the state ’ s National Guard confirmed were its aircraft .
These circled above the most intense clashes between protesters and police .
“ Currently we are performing incident awareness and assessment observations in conjunction with civilian law enforcement , ” Minnesota National Guard spokesperson Blair Heusdens told BuzzFeed News by email .
Huesdens denied that the helicopters were collecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a prohibited activity for the National Guard .
He stressed the Black Hawks ’ role in monitoring the safety of National Guard personnel and the public .
“ As long as Minnesota Guardsmen are performing important , and potentially dangerous missions we will use any asset available to keep them safe , ” Heusdens said .
Like most law enforcement aircraft , the Minnesota State Patrol helicopters that circled the protests are equipped for surveillance .
They have high-resolution optical and infrared cameras that can monitor activity at night and transmit video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ microwave downlink system .
The state patrol ’ s pilots are trained to fly wearing night vision goggles .
The FBI , the Department of Homeland Security , and the Drug Enforcement Administration each have substantial fleets of surveillance aircraft .
Federal planes can be called in to assist local law enforcement ; FBI planes flew over the protests in Ferguson , Missouri , in August 2014 after police shot Michael Brown , and in Baltimore in April 2015 after Freddie Gray died in police custody .
ADS-B Exchange captured only 26 FBI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday to Sunday .
BuzzFeed News previously found that the FBI and DHS surveillance planes are typically much less active over the weekend .
But a Predator drone operated by Customs and Border Protection , part of DHS , was spotted by investigative reporter Jason Paladino of the Project on Government Oversight flying around Minneapolis in a hexagonal pattern earlier on Friday .
The drone was “ preparing to provide live video to aid in situational awareness at the request of our federal law enforcement partners in Minneapolis , ” the agency told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Bell 412 helicopter operated by the US Park Police , part of the Interior Department , circled the White House .
The park police also had officers on the ground around the White House , together with Secret Service agents and DC metro police , where they clashed with protesters .
The maps here show a snapshot of activity in what is a rapidly escalating situation — especially after President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to unleash the military on protesters if the unrest was not quickly brought under control .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were seen over Washington , DC , hovering at very low altitude directly over crowds in what appeared to be a hazardous show of force .
Lakotas are generally used for disaster response , medical evacuation , and homeland security missions .
They are used by the US Army and the National Guard .
On Tuesday , the DC National Guard responded on Twitter to concerns about the incident , saying it had “ directed an investigation into the actions of our rotary aviation assets .
”

As crowds protesting police brutality swelled in cities across the United States this weekend, law enforcement agencies and the National Guard took to the skies — watching from hundreds of helicopters and planes circling overhead.
Surveillance planes are always in action over the nation. To give an overview of the airborne response to the current civil unrest, we mapped flights by local police, state and federal law enforcement, and military planes from 7 p.m. Central Time on Friday, May 29, to 7 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, May 31. The locations of large demonstrations coincided with the most intense aircraft activity.
We identified law enforcement aircraft from information on their operators in the Federal Aviation Administration’s registration database and tracked them using signals from the planes’ transponders compiled at the crowdsourced flight-tracking website ADS-B Exchange. (We assumed planes registered to cities or counties were used for law enforcement unless the registration information identified them as dedicated to another purpose, such as a city fire department.)
Unlike commercial sites, ADS-B Exchange doesn’t follow requests to block aircraft from being tracked, so it can give a more complete picture of surveillance activity. It also flags aircraft operated by the US military, including National Guard units, so we recorded all military flights over the nation. Most were not over major cities, but some military helicopters did fly over the protests.
In the maps below, click or tap on any flight path for more information on the aircraft involved.
Minneapolis


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--White People, Read This Before You Text Your Black Friends

To be clear , I understand this is a delicate balance .
A lot of these people sending texts and messages and DMs mean well and are genuinely trying to be helpful and thoughtful .
And there are some black people who welcome and ask for these check-ins from their white friends .
But for me personally , while they ’ re meant to offer comfort , in the midst of all the unceasing awfulness of these past few days , these texts have only made me feel worse .
I ’ m unsure of how to respond , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , about not thanking these white people for thinking of me .
“ I am calling for a national moratorium on texts from guilty white liberals , ” New York Times reporter Astead Herndon tweeted earlier today .
Carla Bruce-Eddings , a black book publicist , tweeted about receiving a lengthy Facebook message from a white woman she had interacted with “ exactly once ” who asked her how she could help educate her three white children about everything that ’ s going on right now .
A couple of black media friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recipients of texts from white friends , speaking to the striking visibility of black people who work in mainstream media , partly because there are still so few of us .
The texts began on Friday .
One from a guy I don ’ t really speak to on a regular basis , who previously texted me when a dumb tweet I wrote about bras went inexplicably viral .
Then there was a Slack from a coworker and a follow-up Slack the next day .
Then a few texts from friends I talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make me dinner .
And I ’ m not the only black person who has been inundated with text messages from well-meaning white people this weekend .
As the continued momentum of this BuzzFeed Books post suggests , it ’ s clear that many white people have been doing the reading , or at least like to imply that they have .
They have retweeted and read the viral posts about how they can help “ poc ” during times like these ( and it ’ s always “ poc , ” that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as if there isn ’ t a world of difference between a wealthy Indian American software engineer and an undocumented Latinx farmworker , for example ) .
“ White allies , check in on your black friends !
” the tweet or the screenshot or the IG story will go .
Show your solidarity , it ’ ll read .
So why is this frustrating ?
There are two issues at play here : One is that there can sometimes be a kind of performativity or virtue signaling that happens when a white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk to on a semi-regular basis .
Much like Macklemore ’ s screenshot of his apology to Kendrick Lamar in 2014 for winning a Grammy ; such texts serve as ways to ease the emotional burden and guilt that white liberals feel about their privilege .
Inadvertently , the black person they text becomes a therapist who must reassure their white “ friend ” that they are in fact one of the good ones , exonerating them from their guilt .
And if the white friend is texting them to learn more about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ practical ways , it puts the onus on the black friend to teach them , rather than the white friend simply taking the initiative to find — and do — the reading on their own time .
And then , for me , personally , there is the reality that as much as I ache and mourn the deaths of these black men and women , as a black woman from an upper-middle-class background , my experience with police is not the same as George Floyd ’ s or Breonna Taylor ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian Cooper ’ s experience is not like Eric Garner ’ s or Philando Castile ’ s .
I am less likely to be a victim of such encounters with the police because of my class .
That ’ s not to say I haven ’ t had a run-in with the police before .
When I was a teenager walking to a friend ’ s house in a predominantly white suburb , someone called the cops because there were apparently a spate of burglaries in the neighborhood .
It was confusing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never feared for my life .
And as much as middle- and upper-class black people like to say that officers are just as likely to shoot at us indiscriminately , the reality is that we still have more resources and power than the working-class black people who have been at the forefront of this movement and who have suffered the most under the heavy hand of the carceral state .
It ’ s not a coincidence that these protests , both in 2015 and now , started in predominantly low-income black areas .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ position of having an altercation with a police officer is far lower than it is for someone like George Floyd , and it has nothing to do with my being more or less “ deserving ” of that treatment .
The high-profile examples of folks like Henry Louis Gates Jr. and even Christian Cooper getting disproportionate press attention for unjustified public displays of racism are indicators of where this power lies .
When Gates , an Ivy League professor , was arrested while trying to enter his own home in 2009 , Barack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States , had a later ill-advised “ beer summit ” with him and the police officer about the encounter .
When working-class black people are unfairly arrested by the police , more often than not , the wider media never hears about it — or if they do , it ’ s usually because the black person has been killed in police custody .
And the amplification of their stories only usually happens if these victims are fortunate enough to have had someone film the encounter .
Just as I am less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for walking down the street , compared to a working-class black trans woman , not all black people feel the brunt of white supremacy in the same way in this country .
It doesn ’ t mean that making more money or having a college education will save you from the scourge of racism — but black people living in poverty are disproportionately affected by the police state , and it ’ s disingenuous to not acknowledge this .

As the continued momentum of this BuzzFeed Books post suggests, it’s clear that many white people have been doing the reading, or at least like to imply that they have. They have retweeted and read the viral posts about how they can help “poc” during times like these (and it’s always “poc,” that generally useless, willfully obfuscating term, as if there isn’t a world of difference between a wealthy Indian American software engineer and an undocumented Latinx farmworker, for example).
“White allies, check in on your black friends!” the tweet or the screenshot or the IG story will go. Show your solidarity, it’ll read.
So why is this frustrating? There are two issues at play here: One is that there can sometimes be a kind of performativity or virtue signaling that happens when a white person texts the one black person they talk to on a semi-regular basis.
Much like Macklemore’s screenshot of his apology to Kendrick Lamar in 2014 for winning a Grammy; such texts serve as ways to ease the emotional burden and guilt that white liberals feel about their privilege. Inadvertently, the black person they text becomes a therapist who must reassure their white “friend” that they are in fact one of the good ones, exonerating them from their guilt. And if the white friend is texting them to learn more about American history or how to help in practical ways, it puts the onus on the black friend to teach them, rather than the white friend simply taking the initiative to find — and do — the reading on their own time.
And then, for me, personally, there is the reality that as much as I ache and mourn the deaths of these black men and women, as a black woman from an upper-middle-class background, my experience with police is not the same as George Floyd’s or Breonna Taylor’s, just as the Harvard-educated black bird-watcher Christian Cooper’s experience is not like Eric Garner’s or Philando Castile’s.
I am less likely to be a victim of such encounters with the police because of my class. That’s not to say I haven’t had a run-in with the police before. When I was a teenager walking to a friend’s house in a predominantly white suburb, someone called the cops because there were apparently a spate of burglaries in the neighborhood. It was confusing and disorienting, but I (naively) never feared for my life. And as much as middle- and upper-class black people like to say that officers are just as likely to shoot at us indiscriminately, the reality is that we still have more resources and power than the working-class black people who have been at the forefront of this movement and who have suffered the most under the heavy hand of the carceral state. It’s not a coincidence that these protests, both in 2015 and now, started in predominantly low-income black areas. The likelihood of me being in a position of having an altercation with a police officer is far lower than it is for someone like George Floyd, and it has nothing to do with my being more or less “deserving” of that treatment.
The high-profile examples of folks like Henry Louis Gates Jr. and even Christian Cooper getting disproportionate press attention for unjustified public displays of racism are indicators of where this power lies. When Gates, an Ivy League professor, was arrested while trying to enter his own home in 2009, Barack Obama, then the president of the United States, had a later ill-advised “beer summit” with him and the police officer about the encounter. When working-class black people are unfairly arrested by the police, more often than not, the wider media never hears about it — or if they do, it’s usually because the black person has been killed in police custody. And the amplification of their stories only usually happens if these victims are fortunate enough to have had someone film the encounter.
Just as I am less likely to be targeted by police merely for walking down the street, compared to a working-class black trans woman, not all black people feel the brunt of white supremacy in the same way in this country. It doesn’t mean that making more money or having a college education will save you from the scourge of racism — but black people living in poverty are disproportionately affected by the police state, and it’s disingenuous to not acknowledge this.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--Their Restaurant Burned Down In The Minneapolis Protests. They Just Want Justice For George Floyd.

“ We can rebuild a building .
But we can not give this man back to his family.
” The first thing Hafsa Islam felt Friday morning , when she woke up in a neighborhood filled with acrid smoke , was anger .
The restaurant in South Minneapolis that had been her family ’ s life ’ s work , Gandhi Mahal , had burned down in protests early Friday morning , days after George Floyd , a black man , died after a white police officer used a knee chokehold on him .
Then Hafsa heard her father , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Let the buildings burn , ” he was saying .
“ Justice needs to be served .
Put those officers in jail.
” Hearing her father ’ s words on the phone calmed Hafsa , who said she has always supported the Black Lives Matter movement .
“ It helped me realize what we were there for , ” she said .
“ It has gotten to a point where this is the only way that we can get justice , and we can change the system.
” Hafsa , 18 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gandhi Mahal ’ s Facebook page , hoping to help others understand why there were more important things at stake in the protests than buildings , she said .
She was met with an outpouring of support from the community and promises to help the restaurant rebuild .
Ruhel , an immigrant from Bangladesh , explained it this way : “ Life is more valuable than anything else , ” he said , hours after his restaurant had burned .
“ We can rebuild a building .
But we can not give this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wake of Floyd ’ s death , Hafsa had spent the past few days at Gandhi Mahal , which sits just a few blocks from the Minneapolis Police ’ s Third Precinct , in the heart of the neighborhood that has been the epicenter of the protests .
She had seen medics carrying people injured in the protests .
She ’ d seen nonviolent protesters stung by tear gas and rubber bullets .
And she had even , she said , caught a glimpse of George Floyd as he was arrested a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her car , running DoorDash orders from her family ’ s restaurant .
She even filmed a 5-second video on Snapchat , a blurry video showing police with a man on the corner where Floyd was arrested .
“ The first thing I noticed was his facial expression , ” Hafsa said .
“ It brought that image to my mind .
I remembered how he was crying and in pain.
” She has thought of that expression , she said , as she watches the protests unfold in her city .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should stop protesting are wrong , ” she said .
As the protests and violence that erupted over Floyd ’ s death have reduced much of the south Minneapolis neighborhood where Floyd was arrested to rubble , many have used the plight of small business owners as a cudgel against the protesters .
To Ruhel , who grew up in a “ police state ” in Bangladesh , the forces that brought down his beloved restaurant were very clear .
He places the blame on city leaders and local law enforcement who had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Floyd ’ s death , before the officer who knelt on Floyd ’ s neck was charged with murder Friday afternoon .
The other three officers have not been charged .
“ They could have stopped this , ” Ruhel said .
“ They need to put the police in jail .
It should have been solved two , three days ago.
” Other small business owners in Minneapolis have gone out of their way to support the protests , even with their buildings at risk as tensions continue to rise .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bookstore , condemned “ indifference , violence , and more terrorizing by the police ” in response to Floyd ’ s death .
“ We so appreciate all of the support we ’ ve been offered over the past two days , but we urge you : do not put yourself at risk to protect our store , ” they wrote on Facebook .
“ The things that may be lost in our building are just things , but your life is priceless , just like George Floyd ’ s life was priceless.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ were boarded up and tagged with `` Do Not Burn '' after reports emerged that the owners had refused to allow police to stage operations in their parking lot .
None of this , though , has lessened the pain of the loss of Gandhi Mahal , for Ruhel or for Hafsa .
Ruhel tried to protect his building , he said : He stayed there this morning until 1 a.m. , when he finally had no choice but to go home .
“ My heart is very broken , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We want justice for our brother , but we don ’ t want to be destroyed .
I see young people 's anger .
At the end , we believe in peace.
” On Friday , Ruhel tried to examine the damage done to their restaurant .
But police were blocking off the streets , he said , and he couldn ’ t get through .
Around him , rubble still smoked .
Instead , Ruhel and Hafsa went to the garden that they started nearby , called the Interfaith Garden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other community groups to grow fresh vegetables and spices that are served at Gandhi Mahal .
Ruhel tended to cilantro , beans , and fenugreek , a medicinal spice .
Around them , the smoke was still so heavy that their throats burned .
“ I ’ m going to plant in the garden and pray for everyone , ” Ruhel said .
He has told Hafsa not to worry about the loss of their restaurant , which was their main source of income .
“ We ’ ll figure it out , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll work together , ” he said he told her .
“ We ’ re growing a lot of food , vegetables , and I ’ m not worried .
I ’ m going to start planting and growing and growing to survive .
”

The first thing Hafsa Islam felt Friday morning, when she woke up in a neighborhood filled with acrid smoke, was anger.
The restaurant in South Minneapolis that had been her family’s life’s work, Gandhi Mahal, had burned down in protests early Friday morning, days after George Floyd, a black man, died after a white police officer used a knee chokehold on him.
Then Hafsa heard her father, Ruhel Islam, on the phone. “Let the buildings burn,” he was saying. “Justice needs to be served. Put those officers in jail.”
Hearing her father’s words on the phone calmed Hafsa, who said she has always supported the Black Lives Matter movement.
“It helped me realize what we were there for,” she said. “It has gotten to a point where this is the only way that we can get justice, and we can change the system.”
Hafsa, 18, posted what her father had said on Gandhi Mahal’s Facebook page, hoping to help others understand why there were more important things at stake in the protests than buildings, she said. She was met with an outpouring of support from the community and promises to help the restaurant rebuild.
Ruhel, an immigrant from Bangladesh, explained it this way: “Life is more valuable than anything else,” he said, hours after his restaurant had burned. “We can rebuild a building. But we cannot give this man back to his family.”


buzzfeed--2020-06-05--People Are Saying Police Brutality Protesters Are Being Paid, But They’re Citing A Satire Website

The myth that protesters , no matter the cause , are secretly being paid by some powerful entity has circulated for years , but it spread with renewed vigor as anti-police brutality demonstrations ignited across the United States .
Citing debunked images and a satirical website , users on social media suggested that people showing up in the streets were financed by a third party .
There ’ s no shortage of online posts or videos promoting the paid protesters claim , but over the weekend some social media users turned their attention to a very real website , ProtestJobs.com @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
!
!
Protesters for hire , ” wrote one person on Facebook who shared the website three months ago .
“ Are we awake now because this takes the motherfuking cake , ” wrote another who shared it last week .
In reality , the cake is a lie .
According to new research conducted by DFRLab , an organization that tracks online disinformation , people have shared the site on Facebook groups and pages , claiming the site , which is satire , constituted proof of staged demonstrations .
The site @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states , `` Real : 100,000+ American are dead .
Fake : This website , '' offers such tongue-in-cheek services like “ Free National Parks tweet comparing the size of your protest to the inauguration , ” and “ Car/Dumpster fire upgrade option available.
” BuzzFeed News spoke to the creator of the site , who requested anonymity because he has “ seen what happens to people ” who become targets of online harassment .
He ’ s a US citizen who created Protest Jobs in 2017 as a joke for his friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he said .
“ I put it together and I thought it was funny , ” he said .
“ I shared it with a couple of friends and we got a good laugh out of it.
” Then he put it out of his mind , until a fact-checker recently contacted him .
“ I didn ’ t expect this to happen , ” the website 's creator said .
DFRLab found that the site was shared over 30,000 times on Facebook , which translated to nearly a million visitors as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some activity on Twitter , Google Analytics information shared with BuzzFeed News by the site ’ s owner showed over 95 % of the traffic flowed through Facebook .
“ I never looked at it , I never touched it , I never had any alerts set up , ” the creator said .
“ To have it go from zero [ views ] to a million is quite shocking.
” The creator of ProtestJobs.com said he made the website as a response to unsubstantiated claims of paid protestors circulating in 2017 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to denounce protests .
Jean le Roux , the research associate who conducted the analysis , told BuzzFeed News that the site was an ideal illustration of how even well-intentioned satire could be taken out of context .
“ It 's a very fine line between disinformation and an actual , established literary device , ” he said .
Sometimes , politicians or blogs claim they were joking after spreading disinformation , le Roux said , but that ’ s not what happened in this case .
“ Satire , in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as proof that these protesters are being paid , ” he said , “ despite the fact that it 's actually satire about people thinking that protesters are being paid.
” Le Roux ’ s analysis showed small but clear spikes in traffic correlating with protests .
One spike was in February , during protests against the development of a pipeline on Indigenous land in Canada .
Another , bigger spike correlates to the US protests that began last weekend .
“ This whole site was being used to delegitimize protests all over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Most of the people who were sharing it were convinced that it was real.
” After realizing its popularity , the owner of the website added a disclaimer , which has n't seemed to deter people from sharing it , although traffic ultimately dwindled .
The site owner said he worried that taking it down would fuel conspiracies about why it disappeared .

The myth that protesters, no matter the cause, are secretly being paid by some powerful entity has circulated for years, but it has spread with renewed vigor as anti–police brutality demonstrations have ignited across the United States. Citing debunked images and a satirical website, users on social media have suggested that people showing up in the streets are being financed by a third party.
There’s no shortage of online posts or videos promoting the claim that protesters are being paid — but over the weekend, some social media users turned their attention to a very real website, ProtestJobs.com.
“Exposed!!!!!!! Protesters for hire,” wrote one person on Facebook who shared the website three months ago. “Are we awake now because this takes the motherfuking cake,” wrote another who shared it last week.
In reality, the cake is a lie.
According to new research conducted by the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), an organization that tracks online disinformation, people have shared the site on Facebook Groups and pages, claiming the site, which is satire, constituted proof of staged demonstrations.
The site carries an explicit disclaimer —"Real: 100,000+ Americans are dead. Fake: This website" — and offers such tongue-in-cheek services like “Free National Parks tweet comparing the size of your protest to the inauguration” and “Car/Dumpster fire upgrade option available.”
BuzzFeed News spoke to the site's creator, who requested anonymity because he has “seen what happens to people” who become targets of online harassment. He’s a US citizen who created the website in 2017 as a joke for his friends. He forgot about it until last weekend, he said.
“I put it together and I thought it was funny,” he said. “I shared it with a couple of friends and we got a good laugh out of it.”
Then he put it out of his mind until a fact-checker recently contacted him.
“I didn’t expect this to happen,” the website's creator said.
DFRLab found that the site was shared over 30,000 times on Facebook, which translated to nearly a million visitors, as of May 28. Although there was some activity on Twitter, Google Analytics information shared with BuzzFeed News by the site’s owner showed that over 95% of the traffic flowed through Facebook.
“I never looked at it. I never touched it. I never had any alerts set up,” the creator said. “To have it go from zero [views] to a million is quite shocking.”
He said he made the website as a response to unsubstantiated claims circulating in 2017 of paid protesters, and he never expected the site would be used to denounce protests.
Jean le Roux, the research associate who conducted the analysis, told BuzzFeed News that the site was an ideal illustration of how even well-intentioned satire could be taken out of context.
“It's a very fine line between disinformation and an actual, established literary device,” he said.
Sometimes, politicians or blogs claim they were joking after spreading disinformation, le Roux said, but that’s not what happened in this case.
“Satire, in a weird, ironic twist, is being used as proof that these protesters are being paid,” he said, “despite the fact that it's actually satire about people thinking that protesters are being paid.”
Le Roux’s analysis showed small but clear spikes in traffic correlating with protests. One spike was in February, during protests against the development of a pipeline on Indigenous land in Canada. Another, bigger spike correlates with the US protests that began last weekend.
“This whole site was being used to delegitimize protests all over the place,” le Roux said. “Most of the people who were sharing it were convinced that it was real.”
After realizing its popularity, the website's owner added a disclaimer, which hasn't seemed to deter people from sharing it, although traffic ultimately dwindled. He said he worried that taking it down would fuel conspiracies about why it disappeared.


buzzfeed--2020-06-05--A Popular QAnon Twitter Account That Claims To Have Explosive DC Dirt Is Really Just A Random Italia

A Popular QAnon Twitter Account That Claims To Have Explosive DC Dirt Is Really Just A Random Italian Guy

Near the end of her May 26 briefing , White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called on Chanel Rion , the chief White House correspondent for pro-Trump cable outlet One America News Network .
Rion began her question by making the explosive — and false — claim that “ new information ” had revealed that former president Barack Obama had used a foreign intelligence service to surveil two floors of Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign .
“ So to what extent was [ former CIA director ] John Brennan behind that ?
” she asked .
People in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heads , but a hyperactive Twitter user with a photo of one of the astronauts from 2001 : A Space Odyssey as its avatar was elated .
“ Great job !
” tweeted @ GregRubini at Rion , claiming she had “ asked a spicy question from my book.
” It was another coup for the pseudonymous account with more than 120,000 followers .
He has injected himself into major news events , in part by claiming to have sources in the FBI , Trump Tower , and within government and intelligence circles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the US , @ GregRubini tweeted that antifa is `` controlled by the CIA . ''
New York mayor `` De Blasio is ANTIFA , '' he also wrote , in a post that was retweeted thousands of times .
His viral Twitter threads helped his conspiracy-filled self-published book , The Spy Operations on Trump , climb Amazon bestseller lists after its May 22 release .
He was among the first to tweet the name of the alleged Ukraine whistleblower .
His tweets claiming that Dr. Anthony Fauci , the country ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made ” the novel coronavirus went viral and helped launch that baseless rumor into the mainstream .
And thanks to national reporters like Rion who follow his path of conspiratorial thinking , he even has a line to the White House itself .
But the Rubini account ’ s claims of insider intel and “ high placed ” sources appear to be some of its author 's litany of fabrications — which include his online identity .
The man behind @ GregRubini is Gregorio Palusa , a 61-year-old Italian sound engineer and marketer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His background includes a pattern of unverified claims about his business relationships and expertise , and a brief spell as a groupie for a Pink Floyd tribute band .
Palusa did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls .
The Rubini account first attracted national attention late last year when it tweeted the name of the alleged whistleblower more than 20 times , according to the Washington Post .
Since then it ’ s become a mainstay of far-right conspiracy thinking .
May 's White House briefing was the second time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims to prominence .
In mid-March , OAN aired an outlandish report from Rion that suggested a link between the novel coronavirus in Wuhan and a lab in North Carolina .
Rion , who has spread conspiracy theories and false information in the past , credited Rubini for the information , describing him as “ a citizen investigator and monitored source amongst a certain set in the DC intelligence community.
” Rion did not respond to a request for comment .
Rion ’ s story sparked a firestorm of criticism and caused the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , exposing that she had changed her name , made misleading claims about her past , and had little journalism experience .
But her source escaped a similar level of scrutiny .
Until now .
Palusa was born on Jan. 4 , 1959 , in Trieste , a seaport in the northeast of Italy , according to a consulting contract that Palusa signed with an Italian book publisher in 2012 .
Two former business partners said Palusa had spent years in the US and in London , and spoke English very well .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ end of the 1990s and in the first decade of the 2000s , a former business who requested anonymity told BuzzFeed News .
His mother still lives in Trieste , but in a phone call told BuzzFeed News he was no longer living with her .
She said she didn ’ t know where her son currently was and wasn ’ t sure whether she could get in touch with him .
Around 2010 , Palusa moved to Tuscany , listing an address in Pienza , a small town near Siena , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to domain registration records .
Several music and film festivals held in the Siena area between 2013 and 2018 included Palusa ’ s name in promotional materials .
An artist from Trieste told BuzzFeed News that he had ended a business partnership relating to several collaborative creative and design projects with Palusa more than a decade ago .
The artist said he had not been in contact with Palusa for at least 10 years .
“ He started to have delusions of greatness , claimed to ask millions of dollars from companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with which he had had no relationship , ” said the artist , who spoke on condition of anonymity .
He also said Palusa became more difficult to deal with over time , eventually forcing him to hire a lawyer to end their partnership .
“ I never wanted to deal with this person again , '' he said , `` because of his growing megalomania that can seriously endanger those who work honestly.
” These days , Palusa claims to be employed in marketing .
His LinkedIn profile lists him as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firm Vertygo Team , although on other sites he claimed his title was director of communications .
Palusa has also used “ Greg Rubini ” as an alias in the past , according to a Facebook post in March 2016 from an Italian book publisher that specializes in books about spirituality , ancient astronauts , and religious history .
In the post , the publisher claimed a WordPress blog authored by `` Gregorio Palusa aka Greg Rubini on social media '' had defamed the publisher by pushing false and “ delirious ” information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ euros from the company , and had wasted a year of its time after pretending to represent a nonexistent marketing company .
Uno Editori CEO Prabhat Eusebio told BuzzFeed News that Palusa , who lived in Tuscany at the time , had contacted his company in 2012 , promising to bring one of its authors to the US .
“ He claimed to have contacts with large American publishers , ” said Eusebio .
“ We realized the fraud after a loss of about 6,000 euros , ” Eusebio alleged .
“ He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it all ended up in a soap bubble.
” The Uno Editori CEO claimed that Palusa became increasingly uncompromising as it seemed more clear he was unlikely to deliver on his promises .
“ After repeated requests to meet , and questions about how things were going in the search for publishers and agents , his position became more and more intransigent — and he blackmailed us when we stopped paying his fee.
” Eusebio said Palusa threatened to not return revised texts , and to sue and go after the publisher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` He also asked for an exorbitant amount — €137,000 — outside the scope of the contract as compensation for his time , arbitrarily counting hours worked without providing any evidence.
” Eusebio said the company paid some of those fees , but started legal proceedings , after which Palusa created a WordPress blog to attack the company .
The publisher said he had to abandon proceedings because it had become too costly .
Palusa also appears to have worked as an audio engineer .
His Blogger profile includes the claim that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hiemann , whom the Rubini account has tweeted about .
( Deutsche Grammophon didn ’ t respond to a request for comment . )
Italian organist Marco Lo Muscio said Palusa was a sound engineer on his 2009 album , Dark and Light .
Palusa ’ s YouTube account showcases musical performances that he claims to have filmed and edited , many of which have to do with the rock band Pink Floyd .
At an Italian festival held in Tuscany in 2013 , Palusa presented a multimedia exhibition called Pink Floyd : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performance by tribute band Pink Noise .
Carmelo J. , a member of the band , said they fell out of touch after Palusa began offering the unsolicited feedback about its work .
“ Greg Palusa liked us very much as a band , he followed us for a bit , ” Carmelo J. told BuzzFeed News in a Facebook message .
“ Then he disappeared ( I do n't remember why , probably some small squabble ) and we have no more news of him.
” Asked if he could recall what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ replied : “ I just remember that at a certain point his stylistic ‘ advice ’ about us became ‘ critical , ’ expressed even in an inelegant way.
” Palusa also said he ’ s worked with several prominent companies , a claim which could not be independently verified .
Many of the companies that Palusa listed on his Blogger profile as having worked with told BuzzFeed News they had never heard of him .
He claims to have worked with London marketing agency AKQA , Angels Costumes , Ferrari , Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ managing director of AKQA , who ’ s been there for 13 years , told BuzzFeed News that Palusa ’ s name did not appear in any records and he didn ’ t recognize him .
Angels Costumes of London said the same .
A spokesperson for Apple said the company has never employed Palusa and had no record of working with Vertygo Team .
EMI did not respond to requests for comment .
Ferrari declined to comment , but Palusa ’ s claim that he had worked for the company made its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Ford Motor Company against Ferrari .
In the suit , filed in Michigan , Ford alleged that Ferrari had infringed on Ford ’ s F-150 trademark .
Ford ’ s complaint described Palusa ’ s company , Vertygo Team , as “ Ferrari ’ s outside marketing consultant ” and quoted from an article he published on his website about Ferrari ’ s marketing strategy .
The suit was dismissed less than a month later after the parties came to a settlement .
Palusa claims on his LinkedIn profile that his article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being studied by companies including Nokia , Microsoft , Sony , and Goldman Sachs .
Backlink data from SEMrush showed the vast majority of links to the post came from spammy online coupon sites .
As @ GregRubini , Palusa claims to have sources inside the US government with knowledge of intelligence , judicial , and White House matters .
For example , in May of 2019 , he said his “ well placed source inside the FBI ” had seen indictments for former CIA director John Brennan and former FBI director James @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He has also tweeted that people should stop asking him who these supposed insiders are : “ my sources are confidential .
I always honor my commitment to confidentiality , so : do n't even ask who my sources are.
” He threatened to block anyone who asked about his sources .
None of these things happened , of course .
But Palusa kept adding new followers .
On May 22 , he published a book in which he alleges a broad deep state conspiracy against Trump .
In its appendix , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this year his tweets generated 53.8 million views .
His book is filled with references to supposedly high-placed sources , including the false claim that Rion cited in the White House .
In the book , Palusa also offers a document he claims is a memo from the head of the British communications intelligence agency to then–foreign minister Boris Johnson outlining the Trump surveillance operation .
Palusa ’ s attempts to verify the memo and its implications occupy close to half of the book .
He writes that the most likely conclusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authentic.
” In fact , according to responses from the UK government as well as outlets who examined it , it is a sloppy forgery that doesn ’ t hold up to the slightest scrutiny .
Palusa also cites a March 2017 claim from Fox News commentator Andrew Napolitano that the UK spied on the Trump campaign at Obama ’ s request , an allegation that has been widely discredited .
When that surfaced , the usually tight-lipped GCHQ called it “ nonsense ” and “ utterly ridiculous.
” A spokesperson for then–British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was `` ridiculous and should have been ignored . ''
The US government agreed to not repeat it .
Even Donald Trump — the person who benefits most if the claim is true — has declined to repeat it .
But none of that is mentioned in the book .
Instead , Palusa writes that three “ high placed confidential sources have confirmed to the author of this book , Greg Rubini , that the GCHQ Top Secret document is authentic.
” ●

“He started to have delusions of greatness, claimed to ask millions of dollars from companies, boasted about having assignments with companies with which he had had no relationship,” said the artist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He also said Palusa became more difficult to deal with over time, eventually forcing him to hire a lawyer to end their partnership. “I never wanted to deal with this person again," he said, "because of his growing megalomania that can seriously endanger those who work honestly.”
These days, Palusa claims to be employed in marketing. His LinkedIn profile lists him as the London-based director of international relations of marketing firm Vertygo Team, although on other sites he claimed his title was director of communications.
Palusa has also used “Greg Rubini” as an alias in the past, according to a Facebook post in March 2016 from an Italian book publisher that specializes in books about spirituality, ancient astronauts, and religious history. In the post, the publisher claimed a WordPress blog authored by "Gregorio Palusa aka Greg Rubini on social media" had defamed the publisher by pushing false and “delirious” information, that Palusa had stolen thousands of euros from the company, and had wasted a year of its time after pretending to represent a nonexistent marketing company.
Uno Editori CEO Prabhat Eusebio told BuzzFeed News that Palusa, who lived in Tuscany at the time, had contacted his company in 2012, promising to bring one of its authors to the US. “He claimed to have contacts with large American publishers,” said Eusebio.
“We realized the fraud after a loss of about 6,000 euros,” Eusebio alleged. “He seemed like an expert in publishing, but it all ended up in a soap bubble.”
The Uno Editori CEO claimed that Palusa became increasingly uncompromising as it seemed more clear he was unlikely to deliver on his promises. “After repeated requests to meet, and questions about how things were going in the search for publishers and agents, his position became more and more intransigent — and he blackmailed us when we stopped paying his fee.” Eusebio said Palusa threatened to not return revised texts, and to sue and go after the publisher in public if he wasn't paid. "He also asked for an exorbitant amount — €137,000 — outside the scope of the contract as compensation for his time, arbitrarily counting hours worked without providing any evidence.”
Eusebio said the company paid some of those fees, but started legal proceedings, after which Palusa created a WordPress blog to attack the company. The publisher said he had to abandon proceedings because it had become too costly.
Palusa also appears to have worked as an audio engineer.
His Blogger profile includes the claim that he worked with Deutsche Grammophon engineer Klaus Hiemann, whom the Rubini account has tweeted about. (Deutsche Grammophon didn’t respond to a request for comment.)
Italian organist Marco Lo Muscio said Palusa was a sound engineer on his 2009 album, Dark and Light. Palusa’s YouTube account showcases musical performances that he claims to have filmed and edited, many of which have to do with the rock band Pink Floyd. At an Italian festival held in Tuscany in 2013, Palusa presented a multimedia exhibition called Pink Floyd: Odyssey in Space in conjunction with a performance by tribute band Pink Noise.
Carmelo J., a member of the band, said they fell out of touch after Palusa began offering the unsolicited feedback about its work.
“Greg Palusa liked us very much as a band, he followed us for a bit,” Carmelo J. told BuzzFeed News in a Facebook message. “Then he disappeared (I don't remember why, probably some small squabble) and we have no more news of him.”
Asked if he could recall what the argument was about, Carmelo J. replied: “I just remember that at a certain point his stylistic ‘advice’ about us became ‘critical,’ expressed even in an inelegant way.”
Palusa also said he’s worked with several prominent companies, a claim which could not be independently verified.
Many of the companies that Palusa listed on his Blogger profile as having worked with told BuzzFeed News they had never heard of him. He claims to have worked with London marketing agency AKQA, Angels Costumes, Ferrari, Apple, and music label EMI.
The managing director of AKQA, who’s been there for 13 years, told BuzzFeed News that Palusa’s name did not appear in any records and he didn’t recognize him. Angels Costumes of London said the same. A spokesperson for Apple said the company has never employed Palusa and had no record of working with Vertygo Team. EMI did not respond to requests for comment.
Ferrari declined to comment, but Palusa’s claim that he had worked for the company made its way into a 2011 lawsuit filed by the Ford Motor Company against Ferrari. In the suit, filed in Michigan, Ford alleged that Ferrari had infringed on Ford’s F-150 trademark. Ford’s complaint described Palusa’s company, Vertygo Team, as “Ferrari’s outside marketing consultant” and quoted from an article he published on his website about Ferrari’s marketing strategy. The suit was dismissed less than a month later after the parties came to a settlement.
Palusa claims on his LinkedIn profile that his article about Apple’s marketing strategy was being studied by companies including Nokia, Microsoft, Sony, and Goldman Sachs. Backlink data from SEMrush showed the vast majority of links to the post came from spammy online coupon sites.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--News O'Clock: Trump Thinks The Protests Will Help Him Win Like Nixon. That’s Unlikely.

George Floyd ’ s memorial was held in Minneapolis today , and all four former officers involved in his death have now been charged with crimes .
The cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine has donated $ 100,000 to help bail out people arrested for protesting police brutality .
K-pop stans are fighting for good , yet again .
And we have the New York Times ’ Jamelle Bouie with us to discuss why the protests on the streets don ’ t mean it ’ s 1968 again — and why the comparison doesn ’ t work the way Trump wants it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tom Cotton 's very controversial op-ed . )
You can listen to today 's News O'Clock above , or also on : Or wherever else you listen to your favorite podcasts .
Lastly , if you have thoughts on Trump 's response to protests , or want to share your favorite K-pop tweet , or have anything at all that you want to tell us , feel free to send us an email : newsoclock @ buzzfeed.com !
You can either write down your brilliant opinion OR , even better , record it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ email it to us or DM us on Twitter — we ’ re @ NewsOClock .

George Floyd’s memorial was held in Minneapolis today, and all four former officers involved in his death have now been charged with crimes.
The cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine has donated $100,000 to help bail out people arrested for protesting police brutality.
K-pop stans are fighting for good, yet again.
And we have the New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie with us to discuss why the protests on the streets don’t mean it’s 1968 again — and why the comparison doesn’t work the way Trump wants it to. (Oh, and also Tom Cotton's very controversial op-ed.)
You can listen to today's News O'Clock above, or also on:
The iHeartRadio app
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Or wherever else you listen to your favorite podcasts.
Lastly, if you have thoughts on Trump's response to protests, or want to share your favorite K-pop tweet, or have anything at all that you want to tell us, feel free to send us an email: newsoclock@buzzfeed.com! You can either write down your brilliant opinion OR, even better, record it as a voice memo. You can email it to us or DM us on Twitter — we’re @NewsOClock.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--Black Lives Matter Is Suing Trump And The Federal Government Over Force Used Against Protesters Outs

Black Lives Matter Is Suing Trump And The Federal Government Over Force Used Against Protesters Outside The White House

Police clear demonstrators from Lafayette Park near the White House just before President Donald Trump walked through the area for a photo op , June 1 .
WASHINGTON — The DC chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing federal law enforcement officers of violating the constitutional rights of peaceful demonstrators who were forcibly cleared from a park north of the White House so President Donald Trump could walk through for a photo op earlier this week .
The lawsuit accuses officers of attacking the demonstrators without warning and using excessive force — including deploying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gas , smoke canisters , pepper balls , and rubber bullets .
“ This case is about the President and Attorney General of the United States ordering the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators who were speaking out against discriminatory police brutality targeted at Black people , ” the complaint , filed in federal court in Washington , DC , begins .
It ’ s the first lawsuit filed over the events in Lafayette Square on June 1 , and one of the first cases seeking to hold city , state , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during protests nationwide that have led to more than 11,000 arrests .
Besides the local chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement , the plaintiffs in the DC case include a woman who was in the park with her 9-year-old child and other protesters from DC and Maryland who said they were injured and feared going back out to exercise their free speech rights .
They are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of DC and the Washington Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs .
A crowd of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday in the late afternoon as Trump prepared to deliver remarks from the Rose Garden at the White House .
The US Park Police and other federal law enforcement officers in the park suddenly deployed smoke canisters and chemical irritants and charged into the crowd , the sounds of which could be heard from the White House as Trump spoke .
The Park Police were joined by officers from the US Secret Service , the DC National Guard , the Arlington County police , and the US Army military police , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawsuit notes that the incident took place before the city ’ s 7 p.m. curfew .
It soon became clear that officers had cleared the park to allow Trump to walk from the White House to St. John ’ s Episcopal Church , where he stood for photographs holding a Bible .
The church had been burned the weekend before and was boarded up at the time .
The US Park Police released a statement that claimed demonstrators near the park had thrown bricks , frozen water bottles , and “ caustic liquids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given three warnings over a loudspeaker before taking action , but BuzzFeed News and other media outlets on the ground reported that the protesters were peaceful .
One of the plaintiffs heard an officer make an announcement over a megaphone about the city ’ s 7 p.m. curfew and “ simultaneously ” heard explosions , according to the lawsuit .
The agency also disputed the characterization of the irritants as “ tear gas , ” saying officers used “ smoke canisters and pepper balls.
” Pepper balls are projectiles filled with chemicals designed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mouth , and throat , which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has generally described as types of “ tear gas.
” The lawsuit cites a tweet from a local reporter who said TV crews had collected canisters of tear gas from the scene .

WASHINGTON — The DC chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing federal law enforcement officers of violating the constitutional rights of peaceful demonstrators who were forcibly cleared from a park north of the White House so President Donald Trump could walk through for a photo op earlier this week.
The lawsuit accuses officers of attacking the demonstrators without warning and using excessive force — including deploying incendiary devices such as flashbangs, tear gas, smoke canisters, pepper balls, and rubber bullets.
“This case is about the President and Attorney General of the United States ordering the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators who were speaking out against discriminatory police brutality targeted at Black people,” the complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, begins.
It’s the first lawsuit filed over the events in Lafayette Square on June 1, and one of the first cases seeking to hold city, state, and federal law enforcement liable for alleged misconduct during protests nationwide that have led to more than 11,000 arrests. Besides the local chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement, the plaintiffs in the DC case include a woman who was in the park with her 9-year-old child and other protesters from DC and Maryland who said they were injured and feared going back out to exercise their free speech rights. They are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of DC and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
A crowd of demonstrators had gathered in Lafayette Square on Monday in the late afternoon as Trump prepared to deliver remarks from the Rose Garden at the White House. The US Park Police and other federal law enforcement officers in the park suddenly deployed smoke canisters and chemical irritants and charged into the crowd, the sounds of which could be heard from the White House as Trump spoke.
The Park Police were joined by officers from the US Secret Service, the DC National Guard, the Arlington County police, and the US Army military police, according to the lawsuit and media reports. The lawsuit notes that the incident took place before the city’s 7 p.m. curfew.
It soon became clear that officers had cleared the park to allow Trump to walk from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he stood for photographs holding a Bible. The church had been burned the weekend before and was boarded up at the time.
The US Park Police released a statement that claimed demonstrators near the park had thrown bricks, frozen water bottles, and “caustic liquids,” and maintained that officers had given three warnings over a loudspeaker before taking action, but BuzzFeed News and other media outlets on the ground reported that the protesters were peaceful.
One of the plaintiffs heard an officer make an announcement over a megaphone about the city’s 7 p.m. curfew and “simultaneously” heard explosions, according to the lawsuit.
The agency also disputed the characterization of the irritants as “tear gas,” saying officers used “smoke canisters and pepper balls.” Pepper balls are projectiles filled with chemicals designed to irritate people’s eyes, mouth, and throat, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has generally described as types of “tear gas.” The lawsuit cites a tweet from a local reporter who said TV crews had collected canisters of tear gas from the scene.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--A Major Study That Raised Concerns About Hydroxychloroquine Has Been Retracted

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
Researchers have retracted a massive study that said that hydroxychloroquine , a malaria drug hyped as a potential COVID-19 cure by President Donald Trump , could pose serious risks to coronavirus patients .
The study , published in May in the medical journal Lancet , concluded that the malaria drug was ineffective against the virus , a finding in line with several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it also linked hydroxychloroquine to a higher risk of death .
Days after the publication of the study , which claimed to be based on 96,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across six continents , the World Health Organization paused human tests on the drug .
But the study quickly drew concerns from outside scientists , more than 180 of whom signed a letter outlining perceived inconsistencies and demanding that the authors share their full dataset , which had come from a little-known health data analytics company called Surgisphere Corporation .
Last week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but claimed that their conclusions remained unchanged .
On Thursday , however , three of the four researchers reversed course and acknowledged they “ can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.
” In a notice in the Lancet , they wrote that they had sought to have outside experts independently audit the data , but that Surgisphere , which claimed to have an electronic database with patient outcomes from about 670 hospitals , would not hand over its full dataset due to “ client agreements and confidentiality agreements.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the study and the founder of Surgisphere , was not listed alongside the other authors who retracted the paper .
A second paper based on Surgisphere data was also retracted from the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday .
The study , published by several of the same researchers , was about cardiovascular disease in COVID-19 patients , not about hydroxychloroquine .
The retractions followed stories in the Guardian and the Scientist that raised serious questions about Desai ’ s background and Surgisphere ’ s history .
For instance , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to include a science fiction writer and an adult model , according to the Guardian .
The study also claimed to be based in part on data from Australia , but the Guardian reported that it could not confirm with several of that country ’ s health agencies that they had provided data to the study .
The Lancet study had an immediate impact .
Two major hydroxychloroquine clinical trials — one by the WHO , another in the United Kingdom — were put on pause .
And the governments of France , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from being used as a coronavirus treatment .
But scientists questioned whether the study was robust enough to justify those decisions .
“ Many of us in the scientific community were just very angry at seeing a poorly written and executed study published in the Lancet , given loads of publicity , and then having a hugely negative impact on carefully planned clinical trials around the world , ” James Watson , a Thailand-based statistician with the University of Oxford ’ s Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health , told BuzzFeed News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the editors of the Lancet issued an “ expression of concern ” about the hydroxychloroquine study , the WHO announced it would restart its trial .
The Lancet study was not alone in finding that hydroxychloroquine is an ineffective treatment for COVID-19 , and in linking the drug to serious heart problems .
Several other studies have previously reached similar conclusions , and the FDA has acknowledged the cardiac risks of this and a related drug , chloroquine , warning that the drugs not be used outside of a hospital setting .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found no evidence that hydroxychloroquine was helpful in preventing COVID-19 .
As Eric Topol , a cardiologist at the Scripps Research Translational Institute , told BuzzFeed News last week , “ Everything points to a drug that has no efficacy .
There ’ s no sign that it helps anyone .
We know it has significant side effects that are worrisome.
” But the now-retracted Lancet study was also the first to link the drug to a higher rate of deaths , a link that is now unsubstantiated or at least highly in @ @

Researchers have retracted a massive study that said that hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug hyped as a potential COVID-19 cure by President Donald Trump, could pose serious risks to coronavirus patients.
The study, published in May in the medical journal Lancet, concluded that the malaria drug was ineffective against the virus, a finding in line with several other studies. For the first time, it also linked hydroxychloroquine to a higher risk of death. Days after the publication of the study, which claimed to be based on 96,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across six continents, the World Health Organization paused human tests on the drug.
But the study quickly drew concerns from outside scientists, more than 180 of whom signed a letter outlining perceived inconsistencies and demanding that the authors share their full dataset, which had come from a little-known health data analytics company called Surgisphere Corporation. Last week, the authors corrected some of their data but claimed that their conclusions remained unchanged.
On Thursday, however, three of the four researchers reversed course and acknowledged they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.”
In a notice in the Lancet, they wrote that they had sought to have outside experts independently audit the data, but that Surgisphere, which claimed to have an electronic database with patient outcomes from about 670 hospitals, would not hand over its full dataset due to “client agreements and confidentiality agreements.”
Sapan Desai, the fourth co-author of the study and the founder of Surgisphere, was not listed alongside the other authors who retracted the paper.
A second paper based on Surgisphere data was also retracted from the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday. The study, published by several of the same researchers, was about cardiovascular disease in COVID-19 patients, not about hydroxychloroquine.
The retractions followed stories in the Guardian and the Scientist that raised serious questions about Desai’s background and Surgisphere’s history.
For instance, the company’s handful of employees appeared to include a science fiction writer and an adult model, according to the Guardian. The study also claimed to be based in part on data from Australia, but the Guardian reported that it could not confirm with several of that country’s health agencies that they had provided data to the study.
The Lancet study had an immediate impact. Two major hydroxychloroquine clinical trials — one by the WHO, another in the United Kingdom — were put on pause. And the governments of France, Belgium, and Italy banned the drug from being used as a coronavirus treatment.
But scientists questioned whether the study was robust enough to justify those decisions. “Many of us in the scientific community were just very angry at seeing a poorly written and executed study published in the Lancet, given loads of publicity, and then having a hugely negative impact on carefully planned clinical trials around the world,” James Watson, a Thailand-based statistician with the University of Oxford’s Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, told BuzzFeed News last week.
On Wednesday, after the editors of the Lancet issued an “expression of concern” about the hydroxychloroquine study, the WHO announced it would restart its trial.
The Lancet study was not alone in finding that hydroxychloroquine is an ineffective treatment for COVID-19, and in linking the drug to serious heart problems. Several other studies have previously reached similar conclusions, and the FDA has acknowledged the cardiac risks of this and a related drug, chloroquine, warning that the drugs not be used outside of a hospital setting.
The latest such study, published Wednesday, found no evidence that hydroxychloroquine was helpful in preventing COVID-19.
As Eric Topol, a cardiologist at the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told BuzzFeed News last week, “Everything points to a drug that has no efficacy. There’s no sign that it helps anyone. We know it has significant side effects that are worrisome.”
But the now-retracted Lancet study was also the first to link the drug to a higher rate of deaths, a link that is now unsubstantiated or at least highly in question.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--Facebook Will Begin Labeling Posts From State-Controlled Media

Facebook will label pages , posts , and ads from some state-controlled media outlets as `` partially or wholly under the editorial control of a state , '' the company said on Thursday as it comes under pressure to control state-led propaganda campaigns that aim to influence the upcoming US presidential election .
RT and Sputnik will be among those news outlets that will be labeled , along with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV and the Xinhua News Agency .
“ We ’ re providing greater transparency into these publishers because they combine the influence of a media organization with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we believe people should know if the news they read is coming from a publication that may be under the influence of a government , ” the company said on its website .
Facebook also said it would start blocking ads from state-controlled media outlets in the US starting later this summer “ out of an abundance of caution.
” The move comes three years after rival platform Twitter banned ads from Russian-backed outlets RT and Sputnik .
Facebook first indicated it planned to use the labels last October .
The company said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ editorial control of a news outlet , as well as “ country-specific factors , ” such as the level of press freedom .
This suggests Facebook heard the complaints of some organizations , like Al Jazeera , which protested the potential application of the label .
Al Jazeera is backed by the government of Qatar but maintains it has editorial independence .
Organizations have the ability to appeal their label .
Facebook ’ s announcement comes during a week when the company has come under fire for leaving up a post from President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protests against police brutality , “ when the looting starts , the shooting starts.
” Twitter attached a warning label to the post , saying it violated a rule against glorifying violence .
Facebook chose not to take down the post or apply a similar label , although it also bans calls for violence on its platform .

Facebook will label pages, posts, and ads from some state-controlled media outlets as "partially or wholly under the editorial control of a state," the company said on Thursday as it comes under pressure to control state-led propaganda campaigns that aim to influence the upcoming US presidential election.
RT and Sputnik will be among those news outlets that will be labeled, along with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV and the Xinhua News Agency.
“We’re providing greater transparency into these publishers because they combine the influence of a media organization with the strategic backing of a state, and we believe people should know if the news they read is coming from a publication that may be under the influence of a government,” the company said on its website.
Facebook also said it would start blocking ads from state-controlled media outlets in the US starting later this summer “out of an abundance of caution.” The move comes three years after rival platform Twitter banned ads from Russian-backed outlets RT and Sputnik.
Facebook first indicated it planned to use the labels last October.
The company said it will factor in both financial and editorial control of a news outlet, as well as “country-specific factors,” such as the level of press freedom.
This suggests Facebook heard the complaints of some organizations, like Al Jazeera, which protested the potential application of the label. Al Jazeera is backed by the government of Qatar but maintains it has editorial independence.
RT criticized the decision by Facebook as "censorship."
“A US company long in bed with the US establishment, telling the entire rest of the world what it can and cannot say, is the definition of a technological dictatorship," RT said.
Organizations have the ability to appeal their label.
Facebook’s announcement comes during a week when the company has come under fire for leaving up a post from President Donald Trump that said, in relation to protests against police brutality, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Twitter attached a warning label to the post, saying it violated a rule against glorifying violence. Facebook chose not to take down the post or apply a similar label, although it also bans calls for violence on its platform.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--Police Spend Years In Court Fighting Claims of Excessive Force and Misconduct After Mass Arrests of

Police Spend Years In Court Fighting Claims of Excessive Force and Misconduct After Mass Arrests of Protesters

DC and federal authorities are well aware of the legal and financial consequences of mass arrests .
It took 14 years for DC and the US Park Police to settle lawsuits that accused their respective officers of using excessive force and violating people ’ s constitutional rights during demonstrations against the IMF and World Bank in Pershing Park in 2002 ; hundreds of people , including a mix of protesters and bystanders , were arrested .
By 2016 , when the last case settled , DC and federal authorities had reached agreements totaling $ 13.25 million .
“ Nobody wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spray , and subsequent lawsuits lasting years and leading to the government compensating victims , ” Michelman said .
“ But when the leadership of the District law enforcement doesn ’ t understand that , they 're going to keep making the same mistakes again , and it ’ s disappointing that we keep having to sue them because they keep making the same mistakes.
” The ACLU of Minnesota announced Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit against Minneapolis police and state troopers over the treatment of journalists during recent demonstrations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is involved in the litigation over the inauguration arrests , put out a public call for information about Monday ’ s events .
Legal director Scott Michelman told BuzzFeed News that it was too soon to say if the DC ACLU will sue , but they were investigating with an eye to future legal action .
People who sued over the mass arrests in Washington during demonstrations against President Donald Trump ’ s inauguration in January 2017 are still in court three years later waiting for a resolution .
Other mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ended in multimillion-dollar settlements .
It could take years for any lawsuits filed by these protesters — or the more than 11,000 people arrested nationwide during anti-racist demonstrations over the past week — over excessive force , unlawful arrests , and police misconduct to play out in court .
If past cases are a guide , it could also cost local and federal authorities millions of dollars if they lose or settle .
WASHINGTON — It took minutes for federal law enforcement officers to clear protesters near the White House on Monday afternoon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It took hours for police in Washington to arrest nearly 300 people , mostly for curfew violations , that night .
A woman affected by pepper spray is attended to by others during a protest at Lafayette Park near the White House , May 31 .
In 2009 , the DC government agreed to pay $ 13.7 million to settle a class action filed on behalf of hundreds of people arrested during a demonstration , also against the World Bank and IMF , nearly a decade earlier .
DC isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prolonged legal fights after mass arrests .
In 2014 , officials in New York agreed to pay $ 18 million to settle a civil rights case brought on behalf of hundreds of protesters who were arrested at a demonstration a decade earlier during the 2004 Republican National Convention .
In 2015 , a federal judge in Oakland approved a $ 1.36 million settlement for several hundred protesters arrested during a 2012 march that was part of the Occupy Oakland movement .
“ The reason why these cases take so long is because the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its error and tends to be reluctant to agree to proposals to correct its ways , ” Daniel Schwartz , one of the lead attorneys for plaintiffs in the Pershing Park litigation , told BuzzFeed News .
“ And when it does agree to proposals to correct its ways ... they ’ re not always followed.
” These cases can also get tied up in legal fights over whether individual officers are covered by a legal doctrine known as qualified immunity , which protects police from liability if their actions weren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unconstitutional at the time .
The US Supreme Court is deciding whether to revisit the doctrine , which the ACLU and an ideologically diverse group of advocates have argued should be abolished .
As part of the Pershing Park settlements , the DC government and US Park Police agreed to adopt new policies related to how law enforcement officers manage demonstrations .
But Schwartz said those agreements didn ’ t include strong enforcement or oversight provisions , which made it more likely that DC would end up back in court .
“ Just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of police guidelines , which have been in existence for quite some time and are routinely violated , does not solve the problem , because you just have to go back and sue people again , ” he said .
There are three lawsuits pending against the DC government and individual Metropolitan Police Department ( MPD ) officers over mass arrests downtown on Trump ’ s Inauguration Day .
These cases accuse police of unlawfully arresting peaceful protesters , legal observers , and journalists ; using excessive force , including pepper spray and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s rights after they were arrested .
In September 2019 , the federal judge handling these cases dismissed some of the claims , but allowed others to go forward .
The case is on hold while the DC government tries to negotiate a potential settlement with the plaintiffs through mediation .
Michelman said the ACLU was investigating allegations that DC police and federal law enforcement officers used some of these same tactics this week , such as pepper-spraying protesters who weren ’ t resisting and surrounding people so they couldn ’ t disperse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He called the actions by the US Park Police and other federal officers involved in clearing Lafayette Park so that Trump could walk to a nearby church and pose for photographs “ patently unconstitutional and probably criminal.
” The US Park Police released a statement defending its officers and other “ assisting law enforcement partners , ” claiming protesters had been throwing objects and that officers issued warnings before using force .
BuzzFeed News and other media outlets have reported that protesters were engaging in peaceful demonstrations when officers charged .
Michelman said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Monday night and early Tuesday morning were transported to a processing facility across the city only to be released with a citation , which may have put them at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
“ The fact that police used kettling tactics of the kind we saw on Inauguration Day 2017 to prevent people who otherwise would have dispersed and gone home , it appears , from leaving , and instead kept them penned in with other people to not only great discomfort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the current climate , was incredibly irresponsible , and at worst it ’ s unconstitutional and unlawful as well , ” Michelman said .
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham — a veteran DC police official who was in charge of the department during the January 2017 arrests and played a role in directing the 2002 arrests at Pershing Park — has said the department ’ s Internal Affairs Bureau would do a “ thorough review ” of this week ’ s excessive force accusations .

In 2009, the DC government agreed to pay $13.7 million to settle a class action filed on behalf of hundreds of people arrested during a demonstration, also against the World Bank and IMF, nearly a decade earlier.
DC isn’t the only city to face expensive, prolonged legal fights after mass arrests. In 2014, officials in New York agreed to pay $18 million to settle a civil rights case brought on behalf of hundreds of protesters who were arrested at a demonstration a decade earlier during the 2004 Republican National Convention. In 2015, a federal judge in Oakland approved a $1.36 million settlement for several hundred protesters arrested during a 2012 march that was part of the Occupy Oakland movement.
“The reason why these cases take so long is because the government tends to be reluctant to admit its error and tends to be reluctant to agree to proposals to correct its ways,” Daniel Schwartz, one of the lead attorneys for plaintiffs in the Pershing Park litigation, told BuzzFeed News. “And when it does agree to proposals to correct its ways ... they’re not always followed.”
These cases can also get tied up in legal fights over whether individual officers are covered by a legal doctrine known as qualified immunity, which protects police from liability if their actions weren’t “clearly established” as unlawful or unconstitutional at the time. The US Supreme Court is deciding whether to revisit the doctrine, which the ACLU and an ideologically diverse group of advocates have argued should be abolished.
As part of the Pershing Park settlements, the DC government and US Park Police agreed to adopt new policies related to how law enforcement officers manage demonstrations. But Schwartz said those agreements didn’t include strong enforcement or oversight provisions, which made it more likely that DC would end up back in court.
“Just passing a law or enacting a set of police guidelines, which have been in existence for quite some time and are routinely violated, does not solve the problem, because you just have to go back and sue people again,” he said.
There are three lawsuits pending against the DC government and individual Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers over mass arrests downtown on Trump’s Inauguration Day. These cases accuse police of unlawfully arresting peaceful protesters, legal observers, and journalists; using excessive force, including pepper spray and tear gas; and violating people’s rights after they were arrested.
In September 2019, the federal judge handling these cases dismissed some of the claims, but allowed others to go forward. The case is on hold while the DC government tries to negotiate a potential settlement with the plaintiffs through mediation.
Michelman said the ACLU was investigating allegations that DC police and federal law enforcement officers used some of these same tactics this week, such as pepper-spraying protesters who weren’t resisting and surrounding people so they couldn’t disperse, which is known as kettling. He called the actions by the US Park Police and other federal officers involved in clearing Lafayette Park so that Trump could walk to a nearby church and pose for photographs “patently unconstitutional and probably criminal.”
The US Park Police released a statement defending its officers and other “assisting law enforcement partners,” claiming protesters had been throwing objects and that officers issued warnings before using force. BuzzFeed News and other media outlets have reported that protesters were engaging in peaceful demonstrations when officers charged.
Michelman said most of the people who were arrested on Monday night and early Tuesday morning were transported to a processing facility across the city only to be released with a citation, which may have put them at higher risk of contracting COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“The fact that police used kettling tactics of the kind we saw on Inauguration Day 2017 to prevent people who otherwise would have dispersed and gone home, it appears, from leaving, and instead kept them penned in with other people to not only great discomfort but great risk of COVID infection in the current climate, was incredibly irresponsible, and at worst it’s unconstitutional and unlawful as well,” Michelman said.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham — a veteran DC police official who was in charge of the department during the January 2017 arrests and played a role in directing the 2002 arrests at Pershing Park — has said the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau would do a “thorough review” of this week’s excessive force accusations.


buzzfeed--2020-06-04--I Followed Trump To St. John's, And When The Smoke Cleared, There Was A Huge Story

WASHINGTON — The chants of “ Black Lives Matter ” from Lafayette Square grew louder as we approached the scheduled time for President Donald Trump to speak .
I knew those sounds from my weekend coverage of the protests , but hearing them from the opposite side , on the manicured grass of the White House ’ s North Lawn , was different .
Then the chants were replaced with loud booming sounds , the kind you might hear during wartime .
As a pool reporter for the White House press corps — among a small group of journalists who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news organizations — I was keenly aware of the need to keep track of all details .
I took note of the empty podium , the flower beds , the pillars , and four American flags .
But I couldn ’ t keep count of all the booms .
Nor did I understand how they would echo in unexpected ways across the country .
The president was supposed to make an announcement at 6:15 p.m. , but he was late and so we waited .
When he emerged from his office , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd , ” Trump said during his brief remarks .
The blasts continued .
When it was over , he walked off without taking questions .
My phone battery was dying .
Members of the press were told to meet on the North Lawn .
I had an inkling about where we were going based on the president ’ s last remarks at the press conference : “ And now I ’ m going to pay my respects to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind a tree , we could see the president leaving the White House .
I dashed along the North Lawn with a small cluster of reporters to see what would happen next .
As we followed the president ’ s route , we began to realize what had happened earlier .
The remnants of whatever was still in the air left me and some reporters coughing and teary-eyed .
( Soon it would be reported that smoke from canisters and pepper balls had , in effect , paved the way for Trump 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entourage marched on through Lafayette Square , past the graffiti , reporters keeping a distance of 15 to 30 feet away .
And then we arrived at St. John ’ s Episcopal Church , where every president since James Madison has attended service .
It was boarded up after being vandalized the night before .
The street was empty with no traces of protesters except the litter they had left behind .
In front of the church , Trump held up a Bible for the camera .
He didn ’ t read from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was his or where it came from .
And , at that moment , I realized my job was to cover a photo shoot .
It was over in about five minutes , and soon we were back on our way to the White House .
My phone , thankfully , was still working .
Good thing .
I sent an urgent text to my editor .

WASHINGTON — The chants of “Black Lives Matter” from Lafayette Square grew louder as we approached the scheduled time for President Donald Trump to speak.
I knew those sounds from my weekend coverage of the protests, but hearing them from the opposite side, on the manicured grass of the White House’s North Lawn, was different.
Then the chants were replaced with loud booming sounds, the kind you might hear during wartime. As a pool reporter for the White House press corps — among a small group of journalists who would then share what happened with other news organizations — I was keenly aware of the need to keep track of all details. I took note of the empty podium, the flower beds, the pillars, and four American flags.
But I couldn’t keep count of all the booms. Nor did I understand how they would echo in unexpected ways across the country.
The president was supposed to make an announcement at 6:15 p.m., but he was late and so we waited. When he emerged from his office, the booms still could be heard.
“All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd,” Trump said during his brief remarks. The blasts continued.
When it was over, he walked off without taking questions. My phone battery was dying.
Members of the press were told to meet on the North Lawn. I had an inkling about where we were going based on the president’s last remarks at the press conference: “And now I’m going to pay my respects to a very, very special place.”
Gathered behind a tree, we could see the president leaving the White House. I dashed along the North Lawn with a small cluster of reporters to see what would happen next.
As we followed the president’s route, we began to realize what had happened earlier.
The remnants of whatever was still in the air left me and some reporters coughing and teary-eyed. (Soon it would be reported that smoke from canisters and pepper balls had, in effect, paved the way for Trump's walk.) The president and his entourage marched on through Lafayette Square, past the graffiti, reporters keeping a distance of 15 to 30 feet away.
And then we arrived at St. John’s Episcopal Church, where every president since James Madison has attended service. It was boarded up after being vandalized the night before.
The street was empty with no traces of protesters except the litter they had left behind. In front of the church, Trump held up a Bible for the camera. He didn’t read from it. Didn’t say it was his or where it came from. And, at that moment, I realized my job was to cover a photo shoot.
It was over in about five minutes, and soon we were back on our way to the White House. My phone, thankfully, was still working. Good thing. I sent an urgent text to my editor.