George Floyd U.S. protests live updates from June 6, 2020

Atlanta on Saturday lifted its 8 p.m. curfew that had been put in place in response to ongoing protests. "The City of Atlanta will not have a curfew tonight, Saturday, June 6 through sunrise Sunday morning," the city said on Twitter.

The curfew was first enacted last weekend and began at 9 p.m. The curfew was moved up one hour on Friday and was initially set to run through the remainder of this weekend.

In a heated and contentious debate in the Oval Office last Monday morning, President Trump demanded the military put 10,000 active duty troops into the streets immediately, a senior administration official told CBS News. Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley objected to the demand, the official said.  
 
In an attempt to satisfy Mr. Trump's demand, Esper and Milley used a call with the nation's governors later that morning to implore them to call up the National Guard in their own states, the official said.  If these governors didn't "call up the Guard, we'd have (active duty) troops all over the country," this official said.

Read more here. 

Fort Myer, Virginia —Most of the soldiers deployed to Washington D.C. to deal with the ongoing protests have been pulled out. Still, 150 troops remain on alert at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.

Five hundred soldiers packed their gear and headed home. The order to pull out came quickly and the Army chief of staff James McConville explained why.

"The last thing we want to do is commit active-duty soldiers in our hometowns, in our cities. Only as the last resort," McConville said.

Their pepper spray and tear gas is already packed, but each soldier is still carrying his assault rifle — combat troops poised for action poised just outside the nation's capital.

Watch the full "Evening News" story below: 

A memorial service for George Floyd was held Saturday in his birthplace of Raeford, where family members, public officials and clergy spoke, while thousands attended a public viewing earlier. Many of the speakers called for change amid days of national unrest after his death in Minneapolis.

"Enough. Don't let the life of George Floyd be in vain. It has become a sacrifice," said Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin. Addressing law enforcement officers, Peterkin said they need to say these six words: "We are part of the problem."
Peterkin told mourners to look and listen to the younger generation's calls for change. 

"America, you better get this, what they're saying is there is going to be no peace until there is justice," he said.

Read more here.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the most powerful Democrat in the Senate, attended a protest in Brooklyn, New York, near his home on Saturday.

A New York Times reporter tweeted a picture of Schumer earlier Saturday, and Schumer quote-tweeted it by saying he was "so proud" to join. 

Representative Ihlan Omar also attended a protest in Minneapolis on Saturday. 

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser emerged from a crowd of protesters in the newly-named "Black Lives Matter Plaza" on Saturday to address the demonstrators. 

Bowser used part of her speech to admonish the use of federal law enforcement against protesters outside the White House earlier in the week. The Monday demonstration was described as peaceful, but officers began spraying tear gas and using flash bangs to clear the area before President Trump walked through to St. Johns Episcopal Church.

"If you're like me, on Monday you saw something you hoped you'd never see in the United States of America: Federal police moving on American people peacefully protesting in front of the people's house," Bowser said. 

"If he can take over Washington D.C., he can come for any state and none of us will be safe," she said, appearing to refer to the president. "So today we pushed the army away from our city. Our soldiers should not be treated that way, should not be asked to move on American citizens." 

"Today we say 'no.' In November we say 'next,'" Bowser concluded. 

There are at least 6,000 protesters marching throughout Washington D.C. Saturday, according to a tweet from the Washington D.C. Police Traffic tracker. 

Temperatures in the 90s have not deterred thousands from descending on the nation's capital to protest police brutality and the death of George Floyd. The police department city has closed numerous streets for the "First Amendment demonstrations."

CBS News political reporter Grace Segers wrote on Twitter that she has consistently encountered protesters on a four-mile circuit around D.C. landmarks. 

"(I) was always surrounded by hundreds of people holding signs and walking to different protest sites," she wrote. "It's like almost everyone currently outside is actively or passively participating in the protest."

Video showed protesters marching.

The Sacramento City Council will discuss lifting the citywide curfew and dismissing the National Guard in an emergency session Saturday afternoon, CBS Sacramento reports. 

In a release sent Saturday morning, Mayor Darrell Steinberg wrote, "It is my intention to recommend to the Council that the curfew be lifted immediately and that the National Guard no longer be deployed in our city."

This comes after a week of peaceful protests in downtown Sacramento and one near Steinberg's house Friday night in the Pocket neighborhood of Sacramento.

"Last night's peaceful and powerful demonstrations give me confidence that these steps, which we took reluctantly, are no longer necessary," the release said.

The curfew was instituted on Monday as a result of the rioting and looting that took place last weekend in the city. Approximately 500 National Guard troops were also deployed to the city to protect critical infrastructure.

On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California sent a letter to Mayor Steinberg and city council demanding the curfew be lifted within 24 hours, stating that curfews of such matter are in violation of the First Amendment.

Hundreds of people lined up in Hoke County, North Carolina, on Saturday to pay their respects to George Floyd, who was born in the area and has family that still call it home. 

Floyd's second memorial, after one in Minneapolis last week, is being held in a church about 22 miles from his hometown of Fayetteville, The Associated Press reports. 

A line of cars stretched as far as the eye could see, with gospel music flowing from the mourners' cars, according to The News & Observer. 

The North Carolina paper reports that hundreds of people crowded around the hearse as it stopped at the church door. And as pallbearers rolled Floyd's gold casket inside, people shouted: "Black power! George Floyd!"

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she is lifting what had been a planned 8 p.m. curfew on Saturday in Atlanta after no arrests were reported Friday in Georgia's largest city.

The city had been under a nightly curfew since the previous Friday, when a downtown protest dissolved into window-smashing, arson and looting.

More than 20 protests are scheduled Saturday across the Atlanta metro area. Bottoms said she will monitor the situation before deciding whether to reimpose a curfew on Sunday night. 

A massive Justice for George Floyd protest is taking place Saturday at the Art Museum. CBS Philly reports that by early Saturday afternoon it had drawn thousands of demonstrators. 

Philadelphia's mandatory curfew will remain in effect Saturday evening for an eighth straight night. The curfew will go in effect from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. Sunday.

Watch live coverage on CBSN Philly:

Pictures taken by Getty Images Saturday showed National Guard troops being deployed near the White House ahead of what officials expect will be the largest demonstration the city has seen since Floyd was killed in Minneapolis.  

According to Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham, no arrests were made on Friday for the second day in a row, CBS News affiliate WUSA reports. No curfew was in place in the city on Thursday or Friday, and there is currently no curfew in effect for Saturday evening. 

Hundreds of people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial around noon, holding Black Lives Matter signs and listening to speakers share their personal experiences with racism. 

Derrick Sanderlin, a community activist who for years has trained police in San Jose, California, about anti-bias, was hit in the groin by a rubber bullet last week during a George Floyd protest, according to ABC 7 News.

Sanderlin underwent emergency surgery for a rupture, and before he did, doctors told him he may no longer be able to have children, according to his account. "The doctor had let me know before the operation that there's no way of fully telling until you try to have kids," he told the station.

Sanderlin said he walked into a line of fire after seeing police shoot riot guns at young protesters from close range.

"I really just couldn't watch it anymore," Sanderlin said. "And just kind of made like a parallel walkover, put my hands up, and just stood in the line of the fire and asked them to please not do this."

Video of the scene from ABC 7 shows him standing in front of police with his hands up and police firing on him several times, one round hitting him in the groin. Sanderlin called being hit "the most painful experience."

He and his wife Cayla have hired an attorney who is preparing a claim against the city and the police. "They were aiming for a body part that is prohibited when using those type of riot guns. You're not meant to aim at the groin or the head ever," attorney Sarah Marinho told ABC 7.

San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said in a statement: "Derrick has been a real leader in our communities' efforts to reduce bias and discrimination through dialogue. I assured him we will be investigating this incident."

CBS New York reports many are calling on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to put an end to the city's 8 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew, which was imposed in response to looting and violence that followed protests over the death of George Floyd.

Since then, peaceful protests have continued late into the night.

That's prompted calls to drop the curfew, like other cities have, to avoid clashes with police.

On Friday, de Blasio explained why he doesn't want to lift the curfew.

"Anyone who would say 'Is it more harm than good?' I would say no. We've had three really good nights after two really bad nights," the mayor said.

A protester in New York City Friday night negotiated with a police officer to allow those out after curfew to leave without being arrested. 
 
Peaceful protesters marched in Brooklyn after curfew went into effect at 8 p.m.. Around 9:30 p.m., police cut them off at the front and used police vans to block their exit. 
 
Locked in with no options, protesters called to send those on bicycles to the front line to create a barrier between the police and the larger crowd. Others linked arms to create a second barrier.

"The police just cut us off," one protester, Genesis Hart, told CBS News. "So they are behind us and in front of us. This is a tactic they love to do. We've been peaceful. There is no reason for them to block us from moving forward."
 
Another protester, identified by The New York Times and the New York Post as 38-year-old Randy Williams, approached a police officer in the front and was able to negotiate, saying that everyone would go home as long as the NYPD did not arrest anyone left behind. 

Having come to an agreement, the entire group left the street in a single file line with their hands up. 
 
"Our voice has been heard. We've said it right in front of their faces, everyday that we're out here is a move towards change," one protester told CBS News. "So even though we have to go home … that doesn't stop us at all, we'll be out here another day."
 
–Gilad Thaler

Chicago officials have announced road closures in and near downtown Chicago due to Saturday protests. Bridge closures are also continuing in the city, CBS Chicago reports.

Grant Park and Union Park will be designated spots for demonstrators to gather this weekend, according to the station. The city expects hundreds, if not thousands, to gather peacefully.

A 9 p.m. curfew will continue to be in effect in the city this weekend. 

Seattle's mayor has banned the police use of one type of tear gas as protests continue over the killing of George Floyd. Mayor Jenny Durkan said at a news conference Friday that the ban on CS gas would last for 30 days.

The move came hours after three civilian police watchdog groups urged city leaders to do so. Police Chief Carmen Best says officials will review police crowd control policies.

Local health officials had also expressed concerns over the use of the gas and other respiratory irritants based on the potential to increase spread of the coronavirus. 

The groups said the move would build public trust and should remain in place until the department adopts policies and training for use of the chemical agent. 

Residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul were no longer under a curfew Friday night and the state is planning to start sending state troopers and National Guard members back home.

Minneapolis and St. Paul saw violent protests and store break-ins late last week following Floyd's death. The city has seen peaceful protests for nearly a week, including some 1,000 protesters in St. Paul on Friday and hundreds more near U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz credited peaceful protests for helping achieve rapid change on Minneapolis Police Department policy. On Friday, the city agreed to ban chokeholds and neck restraints as a civil rights investigation of the department begins.

Philadelphia city leaders are getting ready for what is expected to be a massive Justice for George Floyd protest Saturday afternoon at the Art Museum. The National Guard and other law enforcement agencies are continuing to assist Philadelphia police, who are ramping up their numbers ahead of the protest, CBS Philly reports.

Saturday's planned protest at the Art Museum is expected to draw thousands and the city has announced road closures.

While recent demonstrations have been peaceful, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw is concerned about a recent theft of canisters containing dangerous materials that have been stolen. 

"We are concerned. This isn't a typical type of theft that you would see. We know, just from Saturday and Sunday, that there's explosives being used to access either ATMs or fires being set off around the city of various buildings and vehicles, is most certainly of concern," Outlaw said.

A public viewing and a private memorial service are being held in Raeford, North Carolina, on Saturday.

"The memorial is about the life that Mr. George Floyd lived and this is a time to embrace the family with expressions of love and kindness," Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin said in a post on Facebook.

Peterkin said no protests were allowed and asked people attending to wear masks. 

• Read: How to watch the memorial service today 

Formal and impromptu memorials to Floyd over the last several days have stretched from Minneapolis to Paris, Rome and Johannesburg, South Africa. Services are scheduled to culminate in a private burial in the coming days in Texas, where Floyd lived most of his life.  

-CBS/AP

Authorities in the nation's capital are expecting Saturday to be the largest demonstration against police brutality in the city since Floyd's death. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told reporters Friday that local officials were projecting between 100,000 and 200,000 protesters.   

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham wouldn't commit to a number but predicted it would be smaller than the 1 million people who attended the Women's March in 2017.

It comes as authorities have sought to reduce tensions by having National Guard troops not carry weapons. 

Washington has featured daily protests for the past week and they have largely been peaceful. There were zero arrests during demonstrations on Thursday and Friday.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser canceled the curfew that had been in place since Monday. She said she will decide on Saturday morning if it will be reinstated.

The NYPD officer who was recorded pushing a woman to the ground in Brooklyn has been suspended without pay, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement late Friday. Additionally, a supervisor who was on the scene has been transferred.  Each of these cases have been referred to the Department Advocate for disciplinary action.

The woman, Dounya Zayer, said the officer knocked her phone out of her hand, CBS New York reported. When she put her arms up to protect herself, he allegedly cursed at her, called her a derogatory term and shoved her, she said. She said she had a seizure and a concussion after the incident.

She also said a commanding officer saw what happened and didn't intervene.

Another officer was suspended after being was seen pulling down an individual's face mask and then spraying pepper spray in the person's face.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a video statement on Friday saying "we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier" who were protesting police brutality. The statement comes amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, but also years of controversy when the NFL refused to support Colin Kaepernick and other players who knelt in protest over police brutality. 

In a video posted on social media Thursday, NFL stars called on the league to condemn racism and say it believes black lives matter. 

In his roughly minute-and-a-half statement, Goodell did not mention Kaepernick by name but he said the NFL will "encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest." Goodell said he would be "reaching out" to players who have "raised their voices."

"Without black players, there would be no National Football League and the protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff," Goodell said.

Read more here. 

Rahul Dubey, the man who sheltered over 70 protesters in his Washington D.C. home Monday night told CBSN on Friday that his actions were purely "instinctual." Others have called them heroic.

"It was unfathomable," Dubey said of the police violence used against peaceful protesters right outside his front door. He called what he saw a "horrific use of force" against people who were out after the city's curfew.

According to Dubey, police used batons, shields and pepper spray to push people back. He said people were being hit as they ran away.

The chaotic night began around 8:45, past curfew, when Dubey said he heard a loud bang about 30 yards from his stoop, followed by a stream of protesters trying to escape police. "Pounding of batons, cracking of shields, screaming, screeches that were - that I still remember, faces gnarled... police spraying people in the back of the heads," he said, describing the scene.

Dubey opened his door to people, letting them fill up his home in the Logan Circle neighborhood.

Read more here.