Joe Biden to visit Kenosha; AG Barr says Jacob Blake was committing a felony; LA, Rochester launch protests
N'dea Yancey-Bragg
Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, will visit Kenosha on Thursday as tensions simmer in the city following the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer and the deaths of two people protesting his shooting by an armed teenager.
Biden's visit to Wisconsin comes just two days after President Donald Trump toured the destructive aftermath of the shooting of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times in the back by a police officer as he was trying to get into a vehicle. The city has been on edge over the Blake incident and the fatal shooting of two protesters. Police charged Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, in the shooting deaths.
During his Tuesday visit, Trump threatened to send federal forces back into Portland, a day after he defended his supporters' actions during a caravan that preceded the fatal shooting of Aaron "Jay" Danielson, 39, who was a supporter of a right-wing group.
"We're ready, willing and able to send in, you know, a massive group of people that are really highly trained," Trump said in a meeting with law enforcement officers and Attorney General William Barr in Kenosha. "We could solve that problem in less than an hour in Portland."
Barr generated controversy of his own Wednesday when he said in a CNN interview that Blake was committing a felony and armed when officers responded to a disturbance call. Barr's comments drew an immediate rebuke from Blake's attorneys, who said Blake posed no threat and that Barr is "misinformed."
Protests were quiet in Portland on Tuesday night after protesters broke windows and set fire to a business in the upscale apartment building where Mayor Ted Wheeler lives, The Oregonian reported. Wheeler is now looking for a new home following repeated demonstrations at his Pearl District condo building, according to the outlet.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell labeled the events an escalation in the street violence that Oregon's largest city has endured for months during nightly protests after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man in police custody, in May.
In Los Angeles, demonstrations continued for a second day after two sheriff's deputies shot and killed a Black man who was being stopped for a bicycle violation.
Here's what we know Wednesday:
Biden to visit Kenosha on Thursday
Biden will visit Kenosha Thursday for what will be his first visit to Wisconsin this year, and the first to the state by a Democratic presidential nominee since 2012.
"Vice President Biden will hold a community meeting in Kenosha to bring together Americans to heal and address the challenges we face," his campaign said in a release. "After, Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden will make a local stop."
No further details were available on Wednesday.
Biden's visit comes after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers asked Trump not to visit Kenosha, citing concerns over whether the visit would spark more unrest, promote armed men to gather at protests, or devote resources needed elsewhere. Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian also asked Trump to stay away.
A spokeswoman for Evers and Antaramian did not immediately respond to questions about whether they also want Biden to stay away. Antaramian in a recent appearance on CNN said he also thought it was too soon for Biden to visit the city.
Blake's lawyers: Attorney General Barr is 'misinformed'
Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday that Jacob Blake was shot while officers feared for their safety and while Blake was committing a felony. But that claim was heavily disputed by Benjamin Crump, Blake's attorney.
The AG made the comment in a CNN interview a day after visiting Wisconsin.
Barr drew sharp distinctions between the cases of Blake and George Floyd, who died earlier this year while being arrested by Minneapolis police with an officer's knee on his neck.
"Floyd was already subdued, incapacitated in handcuffs and was not armed," Barr said on CNN. "In the Jacob case he was in the midst of committing a felony and he was armed. So that's a big difference."
Authorities said they found a knife in Blake's car. They had responded after getting a call about family trouble from a woman who said Blake was not supposed to be in near her home.
Crump took issue with Barr's characterization of the situation.
"Attorney General Barr is misinformed. The police officers were the aggressors from start to finish, based on video and witness accounts."
Crump added, "There was never any point in time when there was justification for deadly force. In fact, there were innocent bystanders in the line of fire when he shot seven times into Jacob's back."
Trump claims credit for bringing calm to Kenosha
Trump suggested he helped quell the violence in Kenosha by sending the National Guard, although it was Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers who activated the state's National Guard and asked for help from Arizona, Michigan and Alabama, which sent Guard troops.
"This ended within an hour, as soon as we announced we were coming, and then they saw we were here. This ended immediately," Trump said during a tour of law enforcement operations in Kenosha.
Trump was criticized before and during his visit by local officials and activists who said he was trying to capitalize politically on the city's racial wounds.
Trump toured fire-ravaged buildings and small businesses damaged amid citywide unrest. He met with owners of a furniture store, a camera shop and a candle factory, according to the White House.
"These are not acts of peaceful protest but, really, domestic terror," he said.
Blake's family and faith leaders from 50 organizations, including Jesse Jackson, held their own event at the site where the 29-year-old father was shot by a city police officer. Local and federal officials are investigating the incident.
Demonstrations had dwindled by the time the 7 p.m. curfew took effect in Kenosha Tuesday.
4 arrested during Kenosha curfew sue, say it was enforced unfairly
Four people arrested in Kenosha during demonstrations have sued the city and Kenosha County, claiming discriminatory curfew enforcement that violates the First Amendment.
The plaintiffs, residents of Kenosha, Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, seek to represent a broad class of everyone subjected to the curfew, which they ask the federal court to find unconstitutional.
"In Kenosha, there are two sets of laws — one that applies to those who protest police brutality and racism, and another for those who support the police," the suit states.
Samuel C. Hall Jr., a lawyer representing Kenosha County and the sheriff's department issued this statement in response to the suit:
"This lawsuit, filed by out of state attorneys, is entirely without merit. The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department has worked tirelessly to bring order back to the community and has been careful to protect the rights of all citizens throughout that process. We plan to seek an immediate dismissal of this lawsuit."
The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, cites the widespread video of Kenosha authorities allowing a group of rifle-toting people to remain in an area from which the authorities were actively clearing out protesters the night of Aug. 25, and even giving the armed people water and thanking them for their support.
According to the suit, no pro-police demonstrators are among the roughly 150 people arrested since protests began Aug. 23, the day Blake was shot in the back by a Kenosha police officer.
The suit calls the curfew itself — which for several nights lasted from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. — unlawful because it has no exceptions for legal observers, the news media, or "alternative channels for free expression," and as such chills First Amendment rights.
Wisconsin DOJ gives update on Blake investigation
The Wisconsin Department of Justice gave a brief update Tuesday on its investigation into the police shooting of Blake.
The department's Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is expected to provided a report within 30 days which will be made public if prosecutors not to file charges, according to a release.
DCI investigators have conducted 88 witness interviews, collected 102 evidence items, downloaded 28 videos for review, issued 4 search warrants and dedicated over 600 hours working on this case as of Aug. 29, according to the release, which also recapped the timeline of the shooting.
"DCI is continuing to review evidence and determine the facts of this incident and will turn over investigative reports to a prosecutor following a complete and thorough investigation," officials said.
Protesters confront police in Rochester over death of Black man
Scores of protesters took to the streets in Rochester, New York on Wednesday to demand accountability in the death of a black man at the hands of police, who have come under fire amid calls for a murder investigation.
Daniel Prude died in March, but his family on Wednesday released video and records that shows three officers holding him down after he had run naked in an agitated mental state. The video shows the officers putting a hood over Prude and forcing his head and chest into the pavement for at least two minutes until he stopped breathing.
Prude's family called for the officers to be fired and charged with homicide. Three organizers who entered the city's Public Safety Building while press conferences were being held were arrested. Another 100 people gathered outside police headquarters, as officers rushed the crowd and deployed pepper spray to disperse the protests.
Prude's death received no public attention until Wednesday when his family went public with the video, taken from police body cameras and obtained through a public records request.
Mayor Ted Wheeler plans to find new home after protests at his building
Monday night's demonstration at Wheeler's building included demands for his resignation, The Oregonian reported.
In an email on Tuesday to other residents of the 144-unit high-rise building, Wheeler said it would be "best for me and for everyone else's safety and peace" for him to find a new home.
The Oregonian reported on Monday night that people lit a fire with newspapers and tossed a picnic table in it outside the building. Windows on the ground floor were broken, and some protesters took items from a dental office.
Video shared by New York Times reporter Mike Baker showed police swarm the streets and make arrests. Police declared the mass gathering a riot late Monday and arrested 19 people, according to a news release.
Demonstrators have rallied in Portland every night since Floyd, a Black man, died as a white Minneapolis police officer dug his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. His death led to massive protests around the country.
The unrest in Portland has ebbed and flowed, but tensions were reignited when Trump ordered federal agents to the city to protect a federal courthouse and quell violence.
Those agents withdrew July 31, but smaller nightly protests have continued in pockets of the city. More than 600 people have been arrested since late May.
Protests continue in Los Angeles over police shooting
Dozens of protesters marched to the sheriff's station in Los Angeles Tuesday for the second day in a row after two deputies fatally shot a Black man who scuffled with them after they tried to stop him for riding a bicycle in an unlawful manner, according to local media reports.
There was no violence or arrests made, although there were some reports of vandalism during the march according to CBS-Los Angeles.
Sheriff's Lt. Brandon Dean said two deputies from the South Los Angeles station were driving when the saw a man riding his bicycle in violation of vehicle codes, according to the Los Angeles Times. It was not known which codes the man allegedly broke, Dean said.
When deputies tried to stop the man, he dropped his bike and ran, with deputies in pursuit, Dean said. Deputies again tried to make contact with the man, and Dean said he punched a deputy in the face. The man then dropped a bundle of clothes he'd been carrying and they spotted a black semi-automatic handgun in the bundle, at which point both deputies opened fire, Dean said.
"The suspect made a motion toward the firearm," the statement said. "It was at that time a deputy involved shooting occurred."
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the handgun was recovered and no deputies were injured.
Family members at the scene identified the dead man as Dijon Kizzee, 29, CBS-Los Angeles reported.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department tweeted in a statement that multiple independent investigations began at the scene, as is customary with deputy-involved shootings. The deputies involved have been removed from the field "pending review of the incident."
Contributing: Josh Bote, Courtney Subramanian, David Jackson, Molly Beck, Ryan W. Miller, John Bacon, Jordan Culver, Jorge Ortiz, USA TODAY; The Associated Press