Dylan Hayre, Justice Division Campaign Strategist, ACLU
Sinc
Heather L. Weaver, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief
Today, in an
Kate Ruane, Former Senior Legislative Counsel, ACLU
Afte
Somil Trivedi, Former Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project
Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
For
When Kishon McDonald saw the video of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of four officers from the Minneapolis Police Department, he could tell it was going to turn the country upside down. “I knew it was going to catch fire,” he said. McDonald, a former sailor in the U.S. Navy, watched over the following days as demonstrations against police brutality spread from Minneapolis to cities and towns across the country, eventually reaching Washington, D.C., where he lived. On June 1, he heard that people were planning to peacefully gather at Lafayette Square, a small park directly across from the White House, and decided to join them. By then, police had begun to attack and beat demonstrators in Minneapolis, New York, and others in states everywhere, escalating tensions as smaller groups broke into shops and set fire to police cars. But when McDonald arrived at Lafayette Square, he found a crowd of a few thousand people cheering, chanting slogans, and listening to speeches. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had imposed a 7 p.m. curfew after clashes the night before, but that was still an hour away. “Everybody there was like, it’s alright, we’re going to be here until 7 o’clock,” he said. “It was a very good energy.” It wouldn’t be long before that would change.
Julius Jones is seeking relief from his death sentence per a procedure clearly allowed by law and regulation.
By Randy Bauman
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