Cleveland Police Ban Media During Riots

Cleveland police reportedly banned the media from being downtown on Sunday during the second consecutive day of George Floyd riots in the city.

“Message from Cleveland police tonight: ‘No media is allowed downtown unless they are inside their place of business. Period,” tweeted Cleveland 19 News’ Jim Nelson on Sunday evening.

Message from Cleveland police tonight: “No media is allowed downtown unless they are inside their place of business. Period.”@CLEpolice

— Jim Nelson (@JimNelsonTV) June 1, 2020

On Saturday, what started off as a reportedly “peaceful” protest later devolved into rioting, resulting in a police vehicle being set on fire and several downtown Cleveland businesses being broken into and looted.

“A gunshot went off and the main window went down [and] protesters started pouring into the store,” said Kelly Kandah, the owner of Cleveland’s Colossal Cupcakes, which was broken into, destroyed, and looted on Saturday night.

Riots taking place in cities across the country appear to be in response to the death of George Floyd, who died on Monday after former police officer Derek Chauvin was seen pressing his knee onto his neck.

On Friday, the state of Minnesota announced that Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Following Floyd’s death, protests ensued across the country, which quickly transpired into violent riots that have involved looting, buildings being set on fire, businesses destroyed, the White House going on lockdown, and people being beaten and killed.

The riots have prompted the mayors of several cities across the nation to issue curfews in an attempt to quell what appears to be a perpetual state of chaos seen in videos circulating on social media.

On Saturday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine activated the state’s National Guard to help respond to the violent riots in Cleveland.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will be designating the violent leftist group Antifa as a terrorist organization.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.