MINNEAPOLIS -- Protesters who have filled the streets from coast to coast to call attention to police brutality and racial injustice were given a victory Wednesday with the announcement that three more police officers will be charged in the death of George Floyd and that a new, tougher charge against the officer at the center of the case has been filed.
But they said more must be done.
"It's not enough," protester Jonathan Roldan said. "Right now, we're still marching because it's not enough that they got arrested. There needs to be systematic change."
Hundreds of protesters were in New York City's Washington Square Park when the charges were announced.
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The move by prosecutors punctuated an unprecedented week in modern American history, in which some peaceful protests took place in communities of all sizes but were rocked by bouts of violence, including deadly attacks on officers, rampant thefts and arson in some places.
While protests continued the past few nights, violence was becoming far more limited, with curfews, additional law enforcement officers and efforts by protesters to contain lawlessness credited with preventing more widespread damage in New York and other cities.
Nationwide, more than 9,000 have been arrested in connection with unrest.
At least 12 deaths have been reported, though the circumstances in many cases are still being sorted out.
Minnesota has opened a civil-rights investigation into whether the Minneapolis Police Department has a pattern of discrimination against minorities.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaking after the new charges were announced, said the state and nation need to "seize the moment" and use the wrenching events of the past week to confront the effects of racism, including unequal educational and economic opportunities.
"I think this is probably our last shot, as a state and as a nation, to fix this systemic issue," he said at a news conference.
President Donald Trump has pushed the nation's governors to take a hard line against the violence, saying Tuesday that "lowlifes and losers" were taking over New York's streets.
He again tweeted Wednesday: "LAW & ORDER!"
Within hours, thousands of peaceful protesters were in the streets again in the nation's capital, singing "Amazing Grace" as they knelt under the watch of law enforcement officers in riot gear. "We are not going anywhere!" they chanted.
Protester Jade Jones, 30, said the demonstrations would continue despite the new charges.
"That's the least they could do," said Jones, who had been attending Washington protests for days. "It's not going to wipe away 400 years of pain."
"We are glad there are additional charges, but that doesn't mean justice has been served," she said.
More than 20,000 National Guard members have been called up in 29 states to deal with the violence.
The protests have also taken root overseas amid growing global anger over Floyd's death, racial injustice and heavy-handed police tactics.
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In Greece, police fired tear gas after young people attacked them Wednesday outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens. Some 4,000 protesters had been peaceful until near the end of the demonstration, when some threw gasoline bombs and stones at police. No injuries or arrests were reported. Other protests were held Wednesday in London, Helsinki, Rotterdam and Bogota, among other cities.
The anger over Floyd's death has spilled into an array of racial issues across the U.S.
In Philadelphia, for example, a statue of former Mayor Frank Rizzo was removed by the city early Wednesday after repeatedly being targeted by vandals. Rizzo presided over a police force widely accused of racism and brutality in the 1970s.
In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam was expected to announce plans today for the removal of an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond's prominent Monument Avenue, a senior administration official told The Associated Press. The statue in the former Confederate capital has been the target of vandalism during the protests.
A Section on 06/04/2020