(Middle East Eye) The killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis triggered the largest protests over systemic racism and police brutality the United States has seen in more than a generation.
Black Lives Matter protests swiftly spread to more than 2,000 cities across all 50 US states, despite Covid-19 restrictions. The brutal manner of his killing even triggered rallies abroad, with demonstrations flaring in parts of western Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In the US, law enforcement cracked down hard, using powerful surveillance tools to track down protesters.
The Department of Homeland Security deployed helicopters, planes and drones over 15 cities where demonstrators gathered, sparking widespread accusations that the federal agency infringed on the privacy rights of demonstrators.
