A CNN reporter was met with loud condemnation by Minnesota protesters as he interrupted a moment of silence in honour of African American man George Floyd.
Floyd, 46, was allegedly murdered by white police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on May 25 after being arrested on suspicion of forgery. Footage captured by an onlooker showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for roughly eight minutes, despite the man pleading for air. He was pronounced dead shortly after.
In the Minnesota city of St Paul on Tuesday (local time), protesters gathered for a moment of silence in honour of Floyd, whose death has incited widespread riots and demonstrations across the United States.
CNN network reporter, Miguel Marquez continued his broadcast throughout the moment of silence, with one protester shouting for silence.
"Miguel, you're at a protest at the state capitol building. Tell us more," news anchor Jake Tapper began the broadcast.
"We were here last night. There are about 200 or 300 protesters," Marquez said. "I’ve got to tell you, we’re in five minutes of silence right now.
"I'm going to show you how big this crowd is. It is absolutely massive. Thousands and thousands of people have showed up."
Several protesters are seen gesturing at the camera and waving the reporter away. The verbal outcry gets increasingly louder as Marquez continues, with one man repeatedly calling for silence. At one point, the lens is blocked by a hand before Marquez cuts the live feed to play a pre-recorded report.
“Miguel Marquez brought us that piece. But right now where he is in St. Paul, they’re having a moment of silence, so we’re going to respect that," Tapper said after the segment.
An independent autopsy, which was commissioned by Floyd's family, found that Floyd's death was a "homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain," according to a statement released by the family's lawyer on Monday.
Last Friday, Chauvin - who has been the subject of numerous conduct complaints throughout his career as an officer, it has been revealed - was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He and the three other officers involved in Floyd's arrest have been fired.
Floyd's alleged murder is the latest case to be adopted by the Black Lives Matter movement in protest of deep-seated inequality and ingrained, systemic racism in the US.
