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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Were arrests in the wave of protests following George Floyd's death mostly for minor violations?
Saturday, June 13, 2020
By Allegra Taylor
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YES
In the wave of protests following George Floyd's death, the Associated Press estimates that 10,000 people were arrested in the U.S. as of June 4.
Arrests in Los Angeles totaled 2,700, more than a quarter of the national total. According to Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore, “2,500 of the arrests were for failure to disperse or breaking curfew.”
In New York, with nearly as many arrests, the AP reported that 1,349 of 2,500 arrests as of June 10 were for curfew violations.
In Denver, 237 of 276 arrests in the first four days were for curfew violations. In Houston, prosecutors later dismissed hundreds of charges for minor disobedience such as trespassing or obstructing a highway.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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