De Blasio backs George Floyd protests despite coronavirus gathering ban
By Julia Marsh
May 29, 2020 | 1:41pm | Updated
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday welcomed peaceful mass protests in the Big Apple over the police-involved death of George Floyd — even as he has staunchly barred other demonstrations, religious gatherings and fined small businesses $1,000 for reopening.
“I want to just say anyone who wants to protest, we’re going to protect your right to protest, but please also respect [that] the cop in front of you did not create the problem,†de Blasio said on WNYC radio’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.â€
He was referring to the hundreds of activists who gathered in Lower Manhattan Thursday — in violation of the city’s pandemic lockdown rules — in the latest national demonstration sparked in the days since a handcuffed Floyd, who was black, died after a white police officer held him to the ground with a knee to his neck in Minneapolis.
https://nypost.com/2020/05/29/george-floyd-protests-okay-amid-coronavirus-gathering-ban-de-blasio/