Black Lives Matter

The vast majority of mayors in American cities do not support sweeping changes to the funding of their police departments, and most say last year's racial justice protests were a force for good in their cities, according to a new survey of more than 100 mayors from across the U.S.

From her couch in Minneapolis, Nuny Nichols watched a mob of largely white extremists stage an insurrection in Washington, D.C., set up a noose on a wooden beam outside the U.S. Capitol and walk a symbol of violence and slavery — the Confederate flag — through the building as they stormed and raided it.

She was angry, but she was not surprised at the way people in the mob laughed as they took things from the building. There were white extremists who felt at ease giving their names to media outlets and taking selfies with a white police officer.

Federal authorities have announced the arrest in Toledo of an activist accused of spending for personal use 200 thousand dollars in donations to what was represented as a Black Lives Matter charity. 

Dozens of police brutality protestors held demonstrations last night in Columbus over a Kentucky grand jury's decision not to charge Louisville officers with the death of Breonna Taylor. 

Updated at 2:51 p.m. ET

A spokesperson for Joint Forces Headquarters Command in Washington, D.C., confirmed to NPR that hours before federal police officers cleared a crowded park near the White House with smoke and tear gas on June 1, a military police staff officer asked if the D.C. National Guard had a kind of "heat ray" weapon that might be deployed against demonstrators in the nation's capital.

Federal police officers who cleared a crowded park near the White House with smoke and tear gas in June violated court-ordered regulations that spell out how demonstrators are to be warned before aggressive tactics are used against them, attorneys who helped write the agreed-upon rules say.

More than 100 people gathered in downtown Columbus Saturday and Sunday to protest the Kenosha, Wisconsin police shooting of Jacob Blake. 

Over the weekend as large crowds of protesters in Portland chanted in support of Black lives and against an ongoing federal police crackdown around the courthouse, some heads turned when a few young men were spotted in the crowd wearing flak jackets over their Hawaiin shirts.

These were purported to be members of the so-called Boogaloo Boys, a mishmash movement of extremists that calls for another civil war, among other things.

Updated at 5:45 p.m. ET

President Trump dismissed outrage over police killings, saying Tuesday that "more white people" are killed by police than Black people.

"So are white people!" Trump said when asked in an interview with CBS News about why so many African Americans have been killed at the hands of police. "So are white people! What a terrible question to ask."

Trump added that "more white people, by the way" are killed by police than Black people.

Civil liberties advocates are urging Attorney General William Barr to name a special prosecutor to investigate possible violations of protesters' rights during the June 1 crackdown in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., NPR has learned.

Federal officers deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and smoke canisters to scatter the mostly peaceful group of demonstrators, clearing the way for President Trump to pose for pictures in front of the historic St. John's Episcopal Church.

Franklin County Sheriff’s officials have placed two deputies on paid administrative leave, including one connected to a controversial video posted on social media over the weekend. 

A convicted felon has been charged with carring a loaded weapon during a police brutality protest in Columbus on June 24. 

Franklin County Municipal Court records show criminal charges filed against at least 59 police brutality protesters between May 28 and June 8 have been dismissed because of technical errors. 

Hamilton County Democrats are criticizing a tweet made by Democratic county auditor Dusty Rhodes.  

Columbus police say police brutality protests on Sunday was broken up by officers along High Street near the Statehouse. 

Editor's note: A previous version of this story included a photo of a protester being struck by a car in Louisville, Kentucky. The photo, chosen by editors, does not appear to be an example of the assaults described in the story, and has been replaced. Police have not charged the driver, but have charged two of the protesters involved in that incident. Authorities continue to investigate.

Right-wing extremists are turning cars into weapons, with reports of at least 50 vehicle-ramming incidents since protests against police violence erupted nationwide in late May.

CAPA and the Greater Columbus Arts Council have created a website to catalog the temporary murals painted primarily in the Short North and downtown areas. 

President Trump's term in office opened with a banner hanging from a crane not too far from the White House windows, declaring "Resist." Now, in the final year of that term, there's another protest slogan planted outside — only this statement, with the official backing of local leaders, is likely to stay put.

Police brutality protests in Columbus Thursday featured no arrests and no reports of property damage. 

Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration and federal law enforcement agencies, saying they violated the constitutional rights of demonstrators who were violently evacuated out of a park Monday to clear the path for a photo op by President Trump.

A white Fairborn police officer has been suspended for posting a controversial comment on social media earlier this week.