Floyd's brother said Trump didn't give him opportunity to speak.

Secret Service undercuts Trump's accusation DC's mayor made police stand down against protesters.

In the wake of furious police brutality protests in Washington, D.C. on Friday that left federal buildings vandalized and briefly forced the White House to lock down, President Donald Trump claimed that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser made the protests worse by refusing to allow the Metropolitan Police to “get involved” and handle crowd control.

But on Saturday, the Secret Service issued a statement saying, among other things, that “the Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Park Police were on the scene.”



https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/secret-service-undercuts-trumps-accusation-dcs-mayor-made-police-stand-down-against-protesters-cnn/

Trump Tower is 'under siege' as Chicago Police make arrests to defend the president's building

Protesters marched on Trump Tower in Chicago on Saturday, as Chicago police in riot gear and on horses defend the president’s building.

State police were deployed to the scene to back up local police, who are reportedly arresting protesters.

On video showed protesters taking a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

Actor John Cusack was among those documenting the protest.




https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/trump-tower-is-under-siege-as-chicago-police-make-arrests-to-defend-the-presidents-building/

Cities should follow Harvey Milk's example.

Let people march until they’re tired. Things only get ugly when police try to block a demonstration.

LAPD surrounded by protesters

This is NOT a good idea.

Nikki Fried smacks Ro DeSantis for 'failing to do his job'

Gov. Ron DeSantis likely sees himself as an active Governor, but Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services says he isn’t getting it done.

An email from Florida Consumers First, a political committee aligned with Commissioner Nikki Fried, paints a grim picture of a do-nothing DeSantis, saying “our Governor needs to do his job.”

“For months,” Fried lamented, “I’ve asked for updates on Florida’s unemployment disaster, questionable health data, the $2 billion hole in our state budget, millions of families going hungry, and wildfires that forced thousands to evacuate. And what happened?”

“DeSantis ignored all of it,” Fried lamented. “DeSantis is refusing to answer our questions. He’s refusing to be accountable to the people who gave him and I both 4 million votes. But we’re continuing the pressure.”

The latest example of that pressure, or at least an attempt thereof, came during last week’s Cabinet meeting, in which the Commissioner’s attempts to get issues of priority to her addressed were thwarted by DeSantis.



https://floridapolitics.com/archives/336721-nikki-fried-smacks-gov-desantis-for-failure-to-do-his-job

Texas will extend early voting period this fall, Gov. Greg Abbott says

Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday he will extend the early voting period for an unspecified amount of time during the November election as concerns continue to persist around in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Abbott has already doubled the time period for the primary runoff election July 14, calling it necessary so that "election officials can implement appropriate social distancing and safe hygiene practices."

In a TV interview Thursday afternoon, Abbott was asked if he believes Texas voters will be able to cast their ballots safely not only this summer but also in the fall.

"We do, and for this reason, and that is ... Texas has always had early voting, and what I did for the July time period and what we will do again for the November time period is we will extend the early voting period," Abbott said in the interview with KCBD in Lubbock. "And what that does — it allows more people to go vote early in settings that are not highly congregated. As a result, you can go vote without having to worry about a whole bunch of people being around you that you could contract COVID-19 from. That makes voting a lot safer [of a] setting than it would otherwise be with the shortened early voting time period."



https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/28/texas-2020-early-voting-greg-abbott-coronavirus/

Three top Texas GOP officials who oppose expanding mail-in voting have each used it

Three of Texas' top Republican leaders are vigorously fighting efforts to expand mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, arguing it will lead to increased voter fraud, yet all three have themselves cast absentee ballots at least once in past elections.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — then a state senator — voted by mail in 2007 for a May Houston municipal election and an ensuing runoff, though Harris County records show his first mail-in ballot was rejected because of a signature verification issue. Patrick is a regular voter in both local and state elections and favors casting his ballot during the early voting period. He's been voting in Montgomery County since 2017.

Although he’s a regular in-person voter in Collin County, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton used the voting-by-mail option to cast a ballot in a 2011 municipal election, according to county records. In recent elections, he's opted for voting early.

Travis County election records show Gov. Greg Abbott cast a mail-in ballot in a 1997 special election when he was a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Abbott consistently votes in local and state elections.

Paxton’s office has been locked in legal fights on multiple fronts in state and federal courts to block an expansion of voting by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, and thus far his office has successfully convinced appellate courts to close the legal door on allowing more voters to qualify for mail-in ballots.




https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/29/texas-mail-voting-used-greg-abbott-dan-patrick-and-ken-paxton/

GOP voter registration group shutters amid coronavirus challenges

Engage Texas, the massive Republican super PAC focused on voter registration, is shutting down, citing challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic.

The political action committe began last year with the support of some of the biggest Texas GOP donors and raised $12.7 million while building a staff in the hundreds. Yet the group says that the monthslong pandemic has made clear that "person-to-person contact voter registration is going to be challenging for an indeterminate amount of time."

"Leadership has determined that the highest and best use of supporter and donor energies at this point is to phase out person-to-person voter registration, close Engage Texas and encourage our supporters to engage with candidate and party activities ahead of the November election," Engage Texas said in a statement to The Texas Tribune on Friday. "Engage Texas is proud of our highly successful voter registration efforts and believes that conservative voter registration will successfully continue through the Republican Party of Texas Volunteer Engagement Project."

Engage Texas, which had $6 million cash on hand at the end of March, is in the process of redistributing its remaining funds to other GOP groups with similar goals. The reallocations are expected to be detailed on its next quarterly report to the Federal Election Commission, which is due July 15.



https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/29/texas-republican-voter-registration-group-folds-coronavirus/

Judge denies complaint against Virginia absentee voting laws

A federal judge in Virginia denied a request from voters seeking to challenge the state's newly-passed absentee voting legislation.

Judge Rossie Alston of the Eastern District of Virginia, a Trump appointee, issued the ruling Friday, saying that although the voters’ complaint “may be well-founded, the court is constrained at this time from remedying these constitutional grievances.”

Under current law, Virginians must list a state-authorized reason for why they cannot vote in person. But a law passed this year that will take effect in July allows voters to cast absentee ballots without any formal excuse.

The plaintiffs argue that in-person voting is just as safe as other essential activities and not requiring voters to file a formal excuse invites fraud.

“The same social distancing and good hygiene practices — which are effective for preventing the spread of the virus when going out for essential services, like grocery shopping and other essential services — are also an effective way to prevent the spread of the virus for in-person voting,” the lawsuit said.



https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/500246-judge-denies-complaint-against-virginia-absentee-voting-laws