Weekly thread for news/updates/discussion of George Floyd protests, racial injustice, and policing policy - week of July 6

An Uneasy July 4th In Richmond, Va., As Armed Groups Gather Warily - describing a very weird collecting of 3 groups all protesting - armed black protesters, armed white "boogaloo" protesters, and white supremacists. Remarkably, no violence seems to have occurred.

Kemp to deploy 1,000 National Guard troops in Atlanta after violent weekend

The National Guard troops will be dispatched to three locations in the city: The state Capitol, which has been the focus of protests over statues of segregationists and Civil War leaders; the Governor’s Mansion in Buckhead; and the recently vandalized Department of Public Safety building in southeast Atlanta.

Hennepin County judge issues gag order in trial of police charged in George Floyd killing

Black Americans have to wait longer to vote. Here’s how to fix it.

Imagine calling a customer support line for Verizon or AT&T and being asked to dial 1 if you’re black or 2 if you’re white and having your wait time correspond to that selection.

NYC Begins Painting Black Lives Matter Mural In Front Of Trump Tower - I have so much delight right now thinking of how much this pisses off Trump.

From St. Louis: Portland Place couple who confronted protesters have a long history of not backing down

The couple who became famous / infamous for brandishing an AR-15 and a handgun (with notably poor trigger discipline) as protesters walked past their property turns out to have an interesting history as very lawsuit happy personal injury attorneys.

I think my favorite detail is that on his 20th birthday, his parents gifted him 5 acres of land (out of 240 that they owned) and he later sued his father over it.

In March 2013, in Phelps County, Mark McCloskey sued his father and his father’s trust over the gift. The birthday card and earth, he claimed, were sufficient title because they met the legal definition of “livery of seisin,” a ceremony performed in medieval England for the conveyance of land.

In 2016, a special judge ruled against him, writing that “Exhibit 1 attached to the petition is a birthday card, not a deed” and that it was too late to claim ownership of part of the farm. The archaic legal claim, the judge ruled “does not operate as a matter of law to transfer title to real property.”

Vox: Inside the distinctive, largely unknown ideology of American policing — and how it justifies racist violence.

Confederate monuments were never really about preserving history

Tldr most of these were built decades after the civil war, and encouraged by a historically revisionist organization.