Timeline: Key Events in the Month Since George Floyd’s Death
Thursday marks one month since George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd lay on the pavement in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd’s death has…
Thursday marks one month since George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd lay on the pavement in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Floyd’s death has sparked global protests about racial inequality and police brutality, and renewed pledges from some to fight racism.
May 25: Floyd dies in police custody. A video shot by a bystander and posted on Facebook shows him saying, “I can’t breathe” before he goes still.
May 26: Protests begin in Minneapolis; the four officers present at Floyd’s detention are fired.
May 27: Protesters throng streets around Minneapolis’s Third Precinct police station, chanting, “No justice, no peace” and “I can’t breathe.” Police use tear gas, plastic bullets and concussion grenades to keep the crowds at bay. A nearby Target is looted.
Protesters stream onto a highway in Los Angeles.
May 28: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activates the National Guard.
May 29: Derek Chauvin, the officer who held Floyd down, is charged with third degree murder; President Donald Trump holds a news conference on China, but doesn’t answer questions on Floyd.
Protests spread to New York City, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., where the White House is temporarily locked down.
May 30: Multiple cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, impose curfews after civil disturbances.
May 31: Tens of thousands of Americans protest across the country; some demonstrations erupt into arson and violence in the evening. A truck drives into protesters in Minneapolis. National Guard troops are called in to over a dozen states.