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Low-flying helicopters used to force DC protesters to disperse

By Will Vitka

A helicopter circles low as demonstrators kneel to protest the death of George Floyd, Monday, June 1, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Authorities used low-flying helicopters to force demonstrators to disperse Monday night as protests erupted for a fourth night in D.C. following the police-custody death of George Floyd.

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Footage from multiple witnesses shows that the helicopters kicked up trash and debris, flinging it through the air. One account from a New York Times reporter said the aircraft knocked down “part of a tree fell, nearly hitting passerbys (sic).” Some videos show demonstrators scattering as helicopters created violent gusts on the ground. Other videos show protesters kneeling.

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It was not immediately clear which department sent the helicopters. President Donald Trump had threatened to use military force against protesters Monday.

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Military helicopters remained on patrol during the early morning hours Tuesday in the skies over D.C. to disperse crowds of protesters out past the city’s curfew.

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

By Neal Augenstein
The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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