BG On The Scene

King Charles III and Queen Camilla ride in the Gold State Coach to Buckingham Palace following the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The coronation was the first of a British monarch in the 21st century, and comes nearly 70 years after the next most recent coronation, that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Charles III’s was the 40th crowning of a monarch at Westminster Abbey in London, the first happening nearly a millennium ago with William the Conquerer’s coronation in 1066. Other Royal Family members followed behind King Charles III, including Prince William and Princess Kate, Princess Anne, and more. The Windsors are the only remaining royal family in Europe that hold large coronation ceremonies. Steeped in tradition and still supported by many in the UK, the event also drew protests, with republican groups calling for an elected head of state and the abolition of the monarchy. A large number of demonstrators with ‘Republic’ protested in Trafalgar Square along the procession route, though were outnumbered by supporters of the event also gathered on Saturday.

Chaotic scenes in France on Monday, as massive crowds took to the streets for May Day demonstrations and protests against the pension reform. Violence broke out in the French capital early into the afternoon, with some in the crowd smashing windows at businesses along Boulevard Voltaire. Police fired teargas, and were pelted with stones, fireworks and other projectiles. Hours of clashes ensued along the march and at Place de la Nation, where a building was set on fire at the square. Police officers were injured and several arrests were made, with the crowd eventually being dispersed later in the evening. The demonstration came amid continued anger over the raising of the retirement age in France, with many large-scale protests taking place over the last few months. May 1st, International Workers’ Day and a public holiday in France for Fête du Travail, was chosen as the latest date for mass mobilization, on a day that is often marked annually by protests and rallies. Large demonstrations also took place in Lyon, Nantes and other cities in France.

Julian Assange supporters gathered in Paris on Sunday, calling for the release of the Wikileaks founder, who is currently imprisoned in the United Kingdom while facing extradition to the U.S. Assange is accused of multiple felony violations of U.S. law relating to the release of classified military documents. The Department of Justice has been pushing for years, first under the Trump Administration and continuing under the Biden Administration, to have Assange extradited to the United States for prosecution. If convicted, he could face over 170 years in prison. The Wikileaks founder took asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for nearly 7 years between 2012 and 2019, before his asylum was eventually revoked. April 11th marked 4 years since his 2019 arrest from the embassy by British police. Assange is currently held in the UK’s Belmarsh Prison while appealing extradition to the U.S. Sunday’s event in Paris featured speeches and visual demonstrations from Assange supporters. The event was one of multiple held in different countries around the 4-year anniversary of his arrest.

Chaotic scenes in Paris on Thursday, where thousands mobilized for the 12th nationwide day of strikes and protests against the pension reform in France. Demonstrations against the planned increase of the retirement age have been ongoing throughout France for months, with Paris seeing many heated exchanges and civil unrest in the streets. Thursday’s events included many violent clashes between crowds and police, with glass smashed, teargas deployed, hand-to-hand punching and more. The march began at Place de l’Opéra and concluded at Place de la Bastille. On a personal note from covering, I was hit with some type of brick (seen in the last clip coming at me as a flying projectile in the video) and had to depart to treat this. As such I don’t have video of the full conclusion of the evening. I am feeling a bit better now as of typing this, thankfully.

“Gun Free Zone” signs up in Times Square in New York, recently placed following the designation of the area as a “sensitive location” under a law signed by Governor Hochul last summer following the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. The law makes it a Class E felony to possess a firearm in a “sensitive location”, which includes government buildings, places of worship, public parks, Times Square and more. The law was swiftly passed following the landmark 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, where a NY law on concealed pistol licenses was found unconstitutional. The ruling has since been cited in several cases across the U.S. challenging gun control laws. State and local government officials have since worked to craft new requirements and restrictions on firearm possession. New York’s revised Concealed Carry Improvement Act, signed by Hochul on July 1st, 2022, includes language criminalizing possession in places including Times Square. It also states who this section of the law does not apply to, including current and retired police officers and active-duty military personnel. NYC Mayor Eric Adams signed into law defined boundaries of Times Square in October 2022, identifying where that portion of the state law on criminal firearm possession applies.

Businesses and buildings have boarded up in Akron, Ohio, ahead of a grand jury decision on whether to indict police officers in the 2022 shooting and killing of Jayland Walker. The grand jury selection began on Monday, and once selected the panel hears evidence from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. They will then decide whether criminal charges should be filed in the case. Walker, 25 at the time of his death on June 27th, 2022, was killed after a police chase in Akron, Ohio. His death sparked protests and unrest in the city last summer, with a mix of peaceful demonstrations, acts of vandalism and property damage, and dozens of arrests. The city is bracing for reaction to the grand jury’s decision, with fencing up around the Akron Police station and Summit County Courthouse in Downtown Akron. A designated “Demonstration Zone” is being created along High Street, with barricades placed along a few blocks near the courthouse, police station and Akron City Hall.

Protesters in support of and against Donald Trump gather in New York for Tuesday’s arraignment of the former President in Lower Manhattan.

“Stay strong, the people are with him” Congressman George Santos says walking near the courthouse in Lower Manhattan ahead of Trump’s arraignment Tuesday. The Representative of New York’s 3rd congressional district made a brief appearance by the courthouse, speaking in support of Donald Trump before departing from the area.

Donald Trump enters court in Lower Manhattan today for his arraignment on 34 felony counts alleging falsification of business records. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts during the proceeding.

Gun control advocates and protesters against new gun laws gathered at the Michigan State Capitol on Wednesday for ‘Rally for Gun Safety’ with former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. The event was held as the Michigan Legislature takes up new gun control bills this month following the mass shooting at Michigan State University in February. The event featured speeches from students, mass shooting survivors and several elected officials, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel. Gabby Giffords, the former Congresswoman from Arizona who survived an assassination attempt and mass shooting in 2011, spoke to the crowd of a few hundred gathered in Lansing. The event was held by the gun control advocacy organization she co-founded, Giffords. Protesters against new gun control measures were present throughout the event, at times chanting during speeches, at other times engaging in dialogue with some of the rallygoers. A mobile digital billboard drove past throughout the rally, with messages against some of the new proposed laws and criticizing the 2019 prosecution of Anthony McRae, the man who would go on to kill three MSU students in 2023, where a felony firearm-related charge was dropped by prosecutors and he instead plead guilty to a misdemeanor, allowing him to continue to possess firearms. Among the bills making their way through the Michigan Legislature are proposals for universal background checks, safe storage requirements, and ‘extreme risk protection orders’, also known as red flag laws, that would allow courts, following submission of a petition, to bar individuals from firearm possession without being charged with a crime. The bills have support among many Democratic lawmakers, whose party is now in the majority in both chambers of the Legislature and the governorship for the first time since 1983, following the 2022 elections in the state.

President Biden speaks in Warsaw, Poland

Ahead of President Biden’s speech in Poland on Tuesday, American, Polish and Ukrainian flags are up on the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Preparations are underway at the gardens of the Royal Castle, where Biden is set to give remarks ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The nearby Śląsko-Dąbrowski Bridge was also lit up in colors of the Ukrainian flag across the Vistula River ahead of the speech. Biden briefly visited Kyiv on Monday to meet with President Zelenskyy, before traveling by train back to Poland and taking Air Force One to Warsaw. Biden is set to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and eastern flank NATO allies during his visit.

A train derailed on Thursday in Michigan, with several cars veering off track in Van Buren Township. There are no reported injuries or release of hazardous materials at this time. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, Representative of the district that includes the site of the derailment, stated “The car carrying hazardous material has been put upright and is being removed from the area of the other derailed cars, and EPA is dispatching a team to ensure public safety.” The train was operated by Norfolk Southern, the same company operating the train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio less than two weeks ago. The company has faced scrutiny for the ongoing situation in East Palestine after the release of hazardous chemicals. It is unclear what caused Thursday’s derailment in Michigan, first reported before 9 in the morning. An investigation is ongoing.

A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday night honoring Alexandria Verner, one of the three students killed in Monday’s mass shooting at Michigan State University. The vigil was held at the Clawson football field, a few blocks from Clawson High, where Alexandria graduated in 2020. Alexandria was a junior at MSU, and wrote on her LinkedIn page that she was studying integrated biology and anthropology. She was an athlete at Clawson & wore jersey No. 24 in basketball, which mourners honored with 24 seconds of silence. Speakers included Clawson Public Schools Superintendent Billy Shellenbarger and Kelly Horne, the Clawson High School Assistant Principal and Al’s former varsity basketball coach. Monday’s mass shooting, carried out by 43-year-old Anthony McRae, left three students dead and five others critically injured. The other victims who lost their lives are Arielle Anderson and Brian Fraser.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announces a lawsuit against the ATF over their new “stabilizing braces” rule, which reclassifies pistols with a stabilizing brace as short-barreled rifles, subject to stricter regulation, taxation and federal registration. The rule, finalized on January 13th, 2023 and officially published in the Federal Register on January 31st, has come under scrutiny from gun rights groups and 2nd Amendment advocates, who have criticized both the constitutionality of the rule and the manner in which it was implemented. The rule was issued by the Department of Justice after being signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, without a new act of Congress. The federal lawsuit was filed by 25 state attorneys general, as well as the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, SB Tactical (a brace manufacturer specifically cited by the ATF in their new rule), B&T USA (a firearms importer and manufacturer), and Richard Cicero, a wounded veteran who uses stabilizing braces. Morrisey is leading the coalition in this particular suit, one of multiple filed against the ATF over the rule in recent weeks. The announcement was made at Bare Arms Indoor Range & Training Center in Huntington, West Virginia, where the Attorney General was joined by members of multiple 2nd Amendment advocacy groups, including the NRA, the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, and Gun Owners of America. Link to the full text of the court filing - https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/Complaint-c1.pdf Link to the full text of the ATF’s rule in the Federal Register - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/31/2023-01001/factoring-criteria-for-firearms-with-attached-stabilizing-braces

Police arrested a NewsNation reporter during a press conference on the East Palestine Ohio train derailment on Wednesday. Note: Parts of the footage do not have audio, a function of this brand of bodycam. There are two gaps in audio, one at the start of the interaction and another when the camera operator returns to talk to police. Newly-released bodycam footage shows NewsNation’s correspondent Evan Lambert being told to stop a live cable news shot as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine addressed press gathered at the East Palestine Elementary School Gymnasium. He is then confronted by the commander of the Ohio National Guard, Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr., who briefly pushes Lambert before himself being separated from the reporter by an Ohio state trooper. Lambert was subsequently asked to leave the gymnasium, and after refusing and stating his intention to stay for the press conference, he was physically removed by East Palestine Detective Dan Haueter and Columbiana County Chief Deputy Jennifer Tucker and placed under arrest. He was taken to the Columbiana County Jail and released a few hours later after posting a $750 bond. Lambert is charged with criminal trespass and resisting arrest, and the case is now being handled by the Ohio Attorney General’s office due to the scope of departments involved. In a statement one day after the arrest, East Palestine Police said that Lambert’s “live reporting was loud”, leading two state troopers and Adjutant Major General Harris to advise him and his camera operator to stop the live shot in the back of the gymnasium, which occurred as Governor Mike DeWine was speaking, announcing the lifting of an evacuation order in the community following the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals. DeWine, asked about the arrest, stated he did not see the argument or authorize Lambert’s removal. In a subsequent interview on NewsNation, he stated “reporters have every right to report, they have every right to do it live”, adding that “they can do it during the press conference” and he would’ve told police to stop from intervening with the reporting had he seen it happening.

Protesters, including several Michigan lawmakers, gather at the Pfizer Global Supply facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, calling for answers following the release of a Project Veritas video that says it shows a Pfizer employee discussing controversial COVID-19 research practices. The video, which can be seen at https://twitter.com/Project_Veritas/status/1618405890612420609, has been widely viewed and sparked Monday's protest, as well as a letter from several Michigan lawmakers to Pfizer demanding answers and requesting a meeting with company executives. Pfizer has rejected claims that it is conducting “gain of function or directed evolution research” in ongoing “development of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine” in a statement released a couple days after the publishing of the Project Veritas video. Their full statement can be seen at https://www.pfizer.com/news/announcements/pfizer-responds-research-claims Monday's rally, organized by Michigan for Vaccine Choice, featured speeches from multiple Republican state lawmakers, as well as two medical doctors and medical freedom activists. The event also featured discussion of vaccine injuries, with several demonstrators holding signs reflecting concerns over the issue as well. The demonstration was held outside the Pfizer Global Supply plant in Kalamazoo, the largest manufacturing site in the Pfizer network. The site is currently undergoing a $750 million investment and expansion, following an announcement made alongside Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in early December 2022.

The mother of Tyre Nichols, RowVaughn Wells, speaks alongside Attorney Ben Crump at a press conference Friday in Memphis, Tennessee, following the filing of murder charges against five former Memphis Police officers in the death of her 29-year-old son

Several stores were looted in Memphis on Friday night, with multiple GameStop locations, a Hibbett Sports store, pawn shop and more all targeted overnight. Community member Chris Weaver, a customer of one of the GameStop locations, spoke out against the looting today outside the damaged building facade of a Memphis GameStop.

Lansing, Michigan: Bank of America windows smashed at a ‘Stop Cop City’ protest Saturday night, with six arrested on misdemeanor charges. The event was held in response to the death of Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran in Atlanta and in opposition to a large proposed police training facility Teran was killed Wednesday by police in Georgia, after what officers claim was first shooting & wounding a state trooper. Activists dispute the claim, police say no footage of the shooting is available Opponents of the $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center had encamped at the forested site where it is set to be built, before a police operation Wednesday to clear the area, where the shooting occurred. Nationwide demonstrations have been held this past week in response

More footage from January 6th was just released, including a portion with Rosanne Boyland at the lower west tunnel (visible from 2:04:27 through 2:05:15 in this video - caution, viewer discretion advised). The footage, two and a half hours in length, comes from the body-worn camera of DC Metropolitan Police Officer Terrence Craig. Craig recently testified about the events portrayed in the footage during the trial of Richard Barnett, a man from Arkansas known for the photo with his feet up on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The footage runs continuously from 2:25 pm through 4:55 pm, beginning shortly after the first entry from the crowd into the building that occurred at 2:12 pm. A group of MPDC officers is arriving at the Capitol at the start of this footage. The first two minutes have no audio, a function of this brand of body-worn camera. Audio is available throughout the rest of the video. Officers are seen inside the Capitol Rotunda, the halls of the Capitol Building, the Capitol crypt, inside the Lower West Terrace tunnel and outside on the west side of the building, where the majority of the crowd was throughout the afternoon.

A new sculpture honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King has been unveiled on the Boston Common. The bronze piece, titled “The Embrace”, was created by conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas. The sculpture symbolizes the hug between Dr. King and his wife Coretta after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The couple first met as students in Boston. The sculpture is 20 feet tall and 40 feet wide, and was transported to Massachusetts in multiple pieces for installation after being built in Walla Walla, Washington. It cost $10 million to create, and was assembled in Boston throughout December 2022. The monument was formally unveiled at a ceremony on Friday, a few days before this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Supporters of a drag story time gathered outside the Fall River Public Library in Massachusetts on Saturday, demonstrating outside of the event that has faced protests in recent months. The drag story time, organized by the Fall River Pride Committee and held monthly throughout the winter, has recently drawn protests amidst a backdrop of objections to all-ages drag events in the U.S. In response to the protests, a crowd of about 150 supporters of the event, including multiple John Brown Gun Clubs, a local pride group and antifascist activists, gathered on Saturday, demonstrating outside the library as January’s event took place. Organizers say the event features book readings and crafts, and is open to all ages. Drag performer Ms. Gloria addressed the crowd during the demonstration, thanking them for their support. A few protesters of the event arrived shortly before it began, though in smaller numbers than recent months in Fall River. A few heated exchanges occurred between supporters and the protesters before opposing sides were separated by Fall River Police, who moved protesters against the event across the street. The rest of the event occurred without incident, and police escorted the protesters away from the event shortly after the drag story time’s conclusion. Supporters cheered as this occurred, then held brief chants and remarks before dispersing from outside the library.

Demonstrators in support of Palestine protested VP Kamala Harris’s visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan this afternoon. Harris spoke at a climate crisis event on the University of Michigan’s campus, alongside Energy Secretary and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Protesters with SAFE - Students Allied for Freedom and Equality - criticized Harris’s support of Israel, her actions as a prosecutor in California, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s approval of billions of dollars in aid to Israel and their military. They also spoke against the Israeli security minister’s recent ban on Palestinian flag-flying in public. Demonstrators gathered outside Hill Auditorium before marching to Rackham Auditorium, where the climate crisis event took place. Chants and speeches were held outside the venue, with a brief break during the discussion before resuming as patrons departed from the event. The group then departed and marched across other parts of the U of M campus and downtown Ann Arbor.

U.S. Capitol, January 6th, 2021