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Mourners hold memorial for George Floyd as more protests take shape

Posted at 1:13 PM, Jun 06, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-06 18:31:17-04

Hundreds of mourners paid respects to George Floyd in his North Carolina hometown while anti-police protests continue around the U.S.

Family members of Floyd gathered for the memorial service at a church about 22 miles from Floyd's hometown of Fayetteville.

What the memorial below:

Floyd was killed on Memorial Day while being detained by four officers with the Minneapolis Police Department. His death was captured on cell phone video, which subsequently went viral. The killing of Floyd sparked massive demonstrations in Minneapolis and across the U.S., with protesters seeking justice for Floyd and calling for changes in policing policies.

The nation’s capital prepares for what is expected to be the city’s largest demonstration against police brutality yet on Saturday. Military vehicles and officers in fatigues closed off much of downtown Washington to traffic ahead of the planned march. It was expected to attract up to 200,000 people outraged by Floyd’s death 12 days ago.

Following days of unrest for Floyd’s death, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that former officer Derek Chauvin, who was seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. On June 3, Ellison announced Cauvin’s murder charge was upgraded to second-degree murder. Additionally, the three other former officers seen in the video-- Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane—were also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder for their role in Floyd's death.

Large protests also took place across the U.S. and in major cities overseas, including London, Paris, Berlin and Sydney, Australia.