- On Friday, Trump took shelter inside an underground bunker for nearly an hour as protests continued outside the White House and across Washington, D.C. Trump was abruptly taken by Secret Service agents inside the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, an underground bunker that is used to shelter presidents during threatening situations, like terrorist attacks. Trump and his family have reportedly been “shaken” by the experience and the size of the protests. (Associated Press / New York Times / CBS News)
- After a weekend out of sight, Trump emerged from the White House bunker and called America’s governors “weak” and demanded that they “dominate” the protesters, which he labeled “terrorists.” Trump asked “Why aren’t you prosecuting them?” while demanding “retribution.” He warned governors that they’d look like “a bunch of jerks” if they didn’t send the protesters to “jail for long periods of time.” Otherwise, Trump added, “you’re wasting your time.” Trump, who has not formally addressed the nation since the protests began, continued: “you have to use the military […] we have a wonderful military,” adding that they would look like “fools” if they didn’t take control of the situation. Trump also accused Minnesota of becoming “a laughingstock all over the world.” (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Wall Street Journal / CBS News)
- Trump tweeted that the U.S. would designate a group of anti-fascism activists as a terror organization, despite lacking the legal authority. Trump, his top officials, Attorney General William Barr, and national security adviser Robert O’Brien have all blamed antifa for the violent protests across the country. Antifa, however, is not an organization and does not have a leader, membership roles or any defined, centralized structure. Further, if antifa were a real organization, current law only permits the State Department to designate foreign organizations as terrorist groups. The U.S. does not have domestic terrorism statute. (Politico / New York Times / CNN)
- Florida’s seen a “statistically significant” uptick in the number of pneumonia and influenza deaths. The CDC said it’s likely COVID-19. (Daily Beast)
- Public health and government officials warned that the ongoing protests against police brutality could lead to a new wave of coronavirus infections. The new cases could add to the already disproportionate burden the disease has had on African-American and Latino populations. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
- Coronavirus May Be a Blood Vessel Disease, Which Explains Everything. 40% of deaths from COVID-19 are related to cardiovascular complications, and the disease starts to look like a vascular infection instead of a purely respiratory one. (Elemental)
- White nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on Twitter. Other misinformation and misleading claims spread across Twitter on Sunday night and into Monday related to the protests. (ABC News)
- Barack Obama finally speaks up (Medium)
- Asshole canceled again… and again… and again…. (The Verge)
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