Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings joins Black Lives Matter demo after George Floyd death

ASTON VILLA star Tyrone Mings attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Birmingham city centre on Thursday night.

The England footballer shared photos of him attending the event on social media, wearing a Nike Air Jordan coat with his hood pulled up.

Read ourGeorge Floyd protests live blog for the latest news & updates

Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings attended a Black Lives Matter demo in Birmingham

He also wore a face covering with “Won’t Be Silenced” written on the fabric.

Captioning the snaps on Instagram, the 27-year-old wrote: “Won’t be silenced.

“The energy and power I felt today, was like nothing I’ve felt before.”

And on Twitter he wrote: “Nothing but energy & passion today.

“I make no apologies for standing up for what I believe in.”

Tyrone Mings was well covered up as he attended the protest

The Aston Villa footballer wore a ‘won’t be silenced’ face covering

Mings, who is set to resume football with Aston Villa in a couple of weeks, told his Twitter followers that he would be protesting

Mings had earlier told his 109,000 Twitter followers: “Don’t be afraid to speak your truth. Stand for what’s right.”

Thousands of protesters attended the demo over the death of George Floyd in the US.

Crowds gathered in the city’s Centenary Square, where a silence was observed in memory of Mr Floyd.

Several hundred people then headed to an area outside West Midlands Police’s Lloyd House HQ, where many of them knelt or sat in the road with their fists raised.

George Floyd died after a police officer knelt on his neck by the roadside

The protest came after pockets of protesters clashed with police as thousands of people flooded into central London and abandoned social distancing for a BLM demonstration on Wednesday.

After a largely peaceful demonstration in Hyde Park, during which Star Wars actor John Boyega gave an impassioned speech, tensions later escalated outside Downing Street.

One officer was pushed to the ground in view of the Houses of Parliament, while another clip showed officers being forced down Whitehall by a group advancing towards them.

Other footage showed objects including signs and a traffic cone being thrown at officers, while plastic and glass bottles were also seen being launched in their direction.

OFFICER ARRESTED FOR MURDER

Scotland Yard said two men were arrested at Downing Street on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and violent disorder.

Mr Floyd died after a white officer, Derek Chauvin, held him down by pressing a knee into his neck in Minneapolis on May 25, sparking days of protest in the US.

Chauvin had his charge upgraded from third to second-degree murder.

Three other former police officers present during the arrest have also been charged with aiding and abetting.

Demonstrations have taken place in areas including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, South Carolina and Houston, and some have included clashes between police and protesters, with officers recorded firing tear gas and rubber bullets on crowds.

At a memorial to Mr Floyd in Minneapolis, US civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton said he was more “hopeful today than ever” about the fight against racism after seeing marches in London and Germany.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “appalled and sickened” to see what happened to Mr Floyd

And chief constables from across the UK issued a joint statement saying they “stand alongside all those across the globe who are appalled and horrified”.

There were angry skirmishes as protesters clashes with police in London

————————

By: John Hutchinson
Title: Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings joins Black Lives Matter demo after George Floyd death
Sourced From: www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/11787871/tyrone-mings-black-lives-matter-birmingham-george-floyd/
Published Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2020 22:42:03 +0000