Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other activists have met little resistance from the authorities after flooding the streets of London in an unauthorised protest, despite the British coronavirus regulations.
Activists at the protests, which were supposedly prompted by the death of a black man while he was being taken into custody by a white police officer — who has now been charged with third-degree murder and negligent manslaughter — on the other side of Atlantic, carried placards bearing slogans such as ‘THE UK IS NOT INNOCENT’ and the ominous ‘NO LIVES MATTER UNTIL BLACK LIVES MATTER’.
No permission was sought to hold the demonstrations, which shut down huge swathes of Britain’s hyper-diverse capital, and activists showed no regard for the draconian coronavirus lockdown regulations which have hitherto been enforced with enthusiasm by the authorities — but the police allowed the mass law-breaking to take place largely unopposed, with the Associated Press reporting: “[P]rotesters ignored UK government rules banning crowds because of the pandemic. Police didn’t stop them.”
Indeed, the Metropolitan Police Force — despite graffiti by activists suggesting the ‘MET POLICE SERVE TRUMP’ — merely tweeted that they were “aware of demonstrators gathering”, that “Officers are on scene & engaging with those in attendance”, and “An appropriate policing plan is in place.”
The Met later reveal that “Three arrests were [made] for breaches of COVID legislation and two were [made] for assault on police”, followed by “six further arrests [for] offences from possession of an offensive weapon to assault on police, obstructing a public carriageway to breaches of COVID legislation” — but this would appear to be only a tiny fraction of offenders.
There is no real indication that the authorities intend to crack down on the activists after the fact, despite the real threat of their reigniting the fading coronavirus epidemic in the capital — indeed, anti-trump city mayor Sadiq Khan appeared to offer tacit support to the activists by tweeting that the “death of George Floyd has rightly ignited fury and anguish not just in the USA but around the world.”
Demonstrators block the road as they gather outside the U.S. Embassy in London on May 31st, 2020 to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, USA. Hundreds gathered in central London and marched to the U.S. Embassy to protest the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis while in police custody that has sparked days of unrest in the U.S. city and beyond. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators block the road as they gather outside the US Embassy in London on May 31st, 2020 to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, USA. – Hundreds gathered in central London and marched to the U.S. Embassy to protest the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis while in police custody that has sparked days of unrest in the U.S. city and beyond. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators stop a bus as they block the street in Sloane Square in London on May 31st, 2020 after marching on the U.S. embassy to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, USA. Hundreds gathered in central London and marched to the U.S. Embassy to protest the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis while in police custody that has sparked days of unrest in the U.S. city and beyond. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
People surround a car and hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march through central London to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
People hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march at Trafalgar Square to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
People hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march at Trafalgar Square to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
People hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march at Trafalgar Square to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
Demonstrators carry placards as they march in the road near the US Embassy in central London on May 31st, 2020 to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, USA. – Hundreds gathered in central London and marched to the US Embassy to protest the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis while in police custody that has sparked days of unrest in the U.S. city and beyond. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators carry placards with slogans as they march near the US Embassy in London on May 31, 2020 to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, USA. – Hundreds gathered in central London and marched to teh US Embassy to protest the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis while in police custody that has sparked days of unrest in the U.S. city and beyond. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
People hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march through central London to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
People hold placards as they join a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march through central London to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
People gather during a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march through central London to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
Police officers block a road close to the Embassy of the United States of America as people holding placards join in a spontaneous Black Lives Matter march through central London to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in support of the demonstrations in North America on May 31st, 2020 in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis has sparked violent protests across the USA. A video of the incident, taken by a bystander and posted on social media, showed Floyd’s neck being pinned to the ground by police officer, Derek Chauvin, as he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe”. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
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