On 7 June 2020, tens of thousands of protesters rallied in central London for a second consecutive day to protest police brutality in response to the 25 May killing of an African American man in police custody in the U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in the Nine Elms district and marched on the bridge across River Thames toward Parliament and Downing Street. Protesters spray-painted graffiti on a statue of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square in Westminster and engaged in clashes with police officers. A total of 25 police officers were injured during the confrontations and at least 36 protesters were arrested.
Previously, a large-scale protest in the city center on 6 June was largely peaceful, although concluded with minor confrontations between protesters and police officers near the U.K. prime minister’s residence in Downing Street. At least 14 police officers suffered injuries. Authorities arrested 29 protesters during the course of the day.
