of me and my neighbors and everyone else. and had nowhere to go. they were pinned in. and it wasn't -- it's not something i thought of. i appreciate the question very much. but you know, opening up my house to strangers, i truly feel that there's a moment in this country where i know that 95% of the people in that situation would absolutely have done exactly what i did and wouldn't have questioned it. and would be beaming all day from the love that's been pouring in coming out of the very awful situation of just police attack innocent protesters. >> rahul dubey, thank you, sir. we're glad that you're safe. and thank you for doing the right thing. we appreciate that in these times. >> i just want to say thank you very much. and there were 200 people that were arrested. there were 70 people that were accosted and pinned up in my house. but today the messages that were coming across is one of hope and that narrative is changing and i think we're on the precipice of

doing some amazing things. and please go out there and vote. >> thank you very much. we appreciate you. we appreciate the message. and thank you, everybody, for watching. our live coverage is going to continue now with chris. he's standing by. chris, you have -- you always say, and i steal this from you. you say there are ameri-can'ts and there are americans. that is an ameri-can. >> that was a wild thing he did. i love his rationale. and it's interesting what people choose to do during a time where every one of us is being measured. i love you, my brother. i love your coverage. thank you for telling the story straight. and i will see you soon. i'm chris cuomo. welcome to a midnight edition of primetime. this is night 8 of protests all across america. it's not because of one thing. the flash-point, no question, was what happened to mr. floyd in minnesota. no question about it. it was so obvious.

it was so obnoxious. everybody was aware. and if nothing else it was so long they had so long to do the right thing. and what a metaphor for a lack of change over time that case has become. they're waiting for justice there. but it's not that that makes you see what's spreading and echoing all across this country and around the world, by the way. the idea of equality and injustice especially during the pandemic. everybody's already raw. that's what we're living through. and that will be a situation where each of us is going to be measured now by what we do, what we're open to, what we're not. we're watching acutely new york. why? because last night we got housed here in new york city. there were looters everywhere. were the majority of protests, people there for the right reasons? 100%. are we talking about a minority slice of people? 100%. but they went -- with all due respect to the mayor, he came on before and talked to me, mayor

de blasio. he said it was really just midtown, nothing in the outer boroughs. i've got video from all over the place. the fancy madison avenue, all those big-time shops. they were breaking in all over the place. the upper east side. madison avenue. they were running all around downtown. there were a lot of bad people doing bad things. okay? that doesn't take away from the protests. you've got to be straight. you've got to be fair. people insinuate themselves into these protesters and then at night they turn into something else. we've been watching scenes like this. this man is coaxing people to keep protesting. yes, there's a curfew. yes, it is illegal for them to be there. it's their right to want to do something that's illegal and take the arrest. protest isn't supposed to be tranquil and peaceful. okay? that's what some people want because they don't like what's happening. that's your right. not to like it. and it's their right not to like what's going on in this country that drove them to the streets in the first place. you really think people want to be out face to face with police officers at night during a pandemic? is that really comfortable?

that's new york city. this is los angeles. let's go right now to cnn's kyung lah, where it is just after 9:00 p.m. local time. these protesters were marching for hours. what is the situation now? >> reporter: you're looking at the picture that i am looking at. what you're seeing are the various police officers. they made the announcement saying you are under arrest for violating curfew. you can see all the zip ties the police officers are carrying. it's a little difficult to see because of all the officers in front here between us and the protesters. but there's still a large number of them. they are sitting on the ground. a lot of them, the majority of them have their hands up. they've been chanting "peaceful protest." and then one by one you see two officers move forward. you can see the two officers move forward, lean down, ask the protester to stand up, turn

around, put their hands behind them, and then they're led away. you can see that protester right there being walked out of the crowd. and then as you watch this man, what is going to happen to him is he's going to be lined up against the wall here. there's a bit of a fence and a wall. and there are a lot of them. these are the remnants of what has been an hours-long protest in the hollywood area. we followed these protesters to los angeles mayor eric garcetti's home in hancock park, which is just south, a neighborhood just south of hollywood. and for hours they protested outside of the mayor's office. but as curfew fell most of them went home. there was a core group, this group that you're looking at that decided to remain. they understood what they were doing. this was going to be civil disobedience. they were going to stay out and protest even though there was a

curfew. this is what is happening. i spoke to a couple of people who were protesting outside the mayor's house. they understood fully what they were doing. but this is the point. they want to send a message. and something else i want you to take a look at. and jordan, if you can just pan over here. what happens to them after they have their hands tied and they give their identification to the police, then they're going to get loaded up onto that bus over my head, and it's a little difficult to see, so i'm explaining it. and that bus is going to take them somewhere to be further processed. and then we'll get the official count from the los angeles police department, how many people were arrested. if you swing back around and take a look here. yes, chris. >> what are they applauding? >> reporter: there are -- what they do is when somebody stands up and they say something there are various people who burst into applause. the ones who are left.

some of the protesters as they get arrested they put their fists in the air or they make a statement and then there's little bursts of applause. so -- one bit of context i want to put on all of this is that we've been out here for hours with these protesters. it has been incredibly peaceful. we haven't seen any signs in the main protest group of any looting. there was a couple reports of looting but they did not appear to be with these protest groups. they have been supportive of one another. people in the apartments and the houses that they've walked by have run out to give them water, encouraging them to keep going. handmade signs. i mean, it's been a similar scene that you've seen in other cities of support and urging to keep going. but this is how the night is ending for those who decided to remain, chris. >> i have to tell you, it's very routine. it's very orderly. we've seen this for nights now. and yet if you just take a step back, blink your eyes a few

times, and just think about what you're watching in america, have any of you tried to explain this to your kids yet if they're old enough to be watching television? and they're processing this and they're like why is this happening? what did they do wrong? and the conversation gets really difficult really quickly. i guess you could simplify it, they're breaking the law, they came out and protested and there's something called a curfew just like you have. you know what happens when you violate it. well, this is the same thing. so there are american citizens protesting because they feel that america isn't being fair to everybody. and the people that their tax dollars pay for to keep them safe, that they want to do their job even better, are arresting them for asking for that job to be done better and for america to be more fair? yes, that's what's happening.

and that is okay because? well, because you have the right to protest in america and to tell the government that what they're doing is wrong and telling your fellow citizens that what they're doing is wrong and that minorities in this case in this country are being treated unfairly and it should be better. and it's not happening. so you're going to take to the streets and you're going to demand it. and then you get arrested because you are breaking the law. i'll tell you, it may make sense to you as an adult. try having the conversation with a kid. try to make sense about why this is happening and what it says about us. we will keep an eye on protests from coast to coast. we will show you the good, the bad and the ugly. that is the job. but we also have to try to make sense of why we are here and where it should slash could take us. all right?

i want to bring in former police commissioner charles ramsey. thank you for allowing me to lean on you at late hours, all around the clock. i appreciate it. i'm sure you've had this conversation with kids and grandkids and citizens so many times. this is a hard thing to see in your country. yes, it's democracy in action but not the way we want to see it. that's called an election, democracy in action. and we're having those tonight. or all around the country. but this is -- we're used to it now. but this is hard to see, commissioner. is it still hard for you to see on some level after all these years? >> well, i understand what's going on here. and this is very impressive because -- my experience, and i'm going back to my washington, d.c. days, and i don't know what's going on here, but when we had organized protests and we'd speak to protest leaders

and have a discussion beforehand and ask them questions, you know, how many do you expect, do you plan on marching blah, blah, blah and they would be very up front and honest. then the subject would come around to arrest. do you have members that are looking to be arrested? well, yes. well, how many? maybe 200. i'm telling you the truth. and we would work on it and we'd say okay, fine, it's not a problem. and that way we could get our arrest teams. they would be done just like you see here. nobody's getting dragged off. >> nope. >> it's very orderly. but they're proving a point. they're willing to go to jail for this cause. and that's the important message here. and so i understand it's difficult when you're talking about young people and so forth. but sometimes behind the scenes there are things going on that you may not be aware of on the surface. this is so orderly that i wouldn't be surprised if something like that happened in this instance, because you don't see chaos, you don't see any of that. what you see are people who are proving a point.

>> right. >> they're proving a point and they're willing to go to jail for it. they're processed. they'll be released. my hat's off to them really. because again, it was the protests of the 196 o's that led to me being a police chief one day. >> you made that point. i can't tell you -- commissioner, so often you say so many things that are so thoughtful and based on experience. you never know what's going to hit. you never know what's going to resonate. i can't tell you how many people have said to me on social media, because god forbid we walk up to one another these days in the pandemic, you know, you can't get near anybody. even the covid kid with the antibodies. and they have written to me and said wow, hearing ramsey say if it weren't for the protests of the '60s, which were not peaceful, which were not tranquil, which were not acquiescent, he wouldn't be here. and that's what i'm talking about, is that what a bizarre reality. that you are absolutely right that nothing has ever gotten done in this country that the citizens have fought for without sacrifice. nothing has come easy.

but the idea that you're willing to get arrested to make the point that people should be treated more fairly under law in this country. yes, i respect it. the police are doing their job without making something more of it or doing it with any harshness. i respect it. but what does it say about our country that you need to go to jail to push for more fairness where you have to have protests and citizens facing off with other citizens in the name of making our country more fair? what does that say about us? >> well, it doesn't say anything positive. but anything worth having, people have historically had to fight for. and this is absolutely no different. you know, when i raised that issue about the 60s and how it benefit me 30 years later, there's some kid right now who's watching what's going on that 30 years from now will benefit from what they're doing right now because the world for them will be better than what we have right now.

i'd like to hope and pray that that's the case. progress, it comes slow. it comes slow. and oftentimes we don't really realize when it's happening. i'm not proud of all the things that the cops do. don't get me wrong. but i'm proud to have been a member of policing for 47 years. because i've seen a lot of good too. so there's a balance there. and we're better now than we were when i first started. but we need to get even better. and hopefully we will be. a whole lot better. where you don't have the cases like we're talking about now. there's no need to have people volunteering or not volunteering to be arrested just to prove a point because equality is here. you know, people tend to relax. and i want to make sure because you had this discussion with the young lady last night you that had on your show. >> angela ryan. >> she was kind of pushing you. she was pushing you about what are you going to do. we've got to be able to keep this alive and keep talking about it. not every night necessarily.

but keep talking about it because people relax when things go back to what they call normal. but they forget, normal is the problem. normal as it exists today is where you have unequal justice and you have all these issues that have given rise to these protests. people are demanding a new normal. that's what they're fighting for right now. a new normal. where there is a level playing field. where there is equality. where there is equal justice for all. that's what they're fighting for now. that's what police ought to be fighting for. and many of them are fighting for it. we have to see ourselves as protectors of the constitutional rights of others and not people who are there just to lock up bad guys. i mean, the job is so much more than that. i don't like the looting. i'm against all that kind of stuff. but this, this is what america's all about, is having that grievance and the ability to be able to get out here and do what they're doing now. >> i agree with everything

you're saying. there's so much wisdom in all of it. but there is one historical fact that kind of sticks out in my head that makes me wonder about the promise of better tomorrows, and that is there was major legislation in the '60s that changed the fundamental rules of the state of play that came on the back of brown versus the board of education, plessie ve ferguson, separate but equal the principles of integration. you know this. you've been teaching me about it over the years. i don't see that coming again. i don't see how it looks like. i don't see how it arrives. but look, the hope is that if the people demand it the change takes shape. and you've been saying that much more eloquently than i ever could tonight and you're a living example of it and you're a living tribute to the country and what the country can put out in terms of not just effective but people who feel the right way in this country in positions mu of leadership. so commissioner, i thank you. >> ten quick seconds.

it gives me hope, the faces of these young people. young people change the world. young people. black, white, hispanic, asian. young people. they are the future. and they will make a change. >> from your lips to the lawmakers' ears. i will check with you and thank you. the best to you and the family. let's take a little break. but i do know this. there are other things going on other than protests in this country. and i'm not even talking about the pandemic. there's breaking political news tonight that does dovetail with the theme of what will make things change in america and what will that change look like. guess what? there's a headline bubbling up about a republican congressman named steve king. long history of saying ugly things that a lot of people including our president love to forgive. what happened to him tonight? next. effortless is the lincoln way.

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cnn is now projecting that congressman steve king of iowa will lose his republican primary race. king as you may know had a long history of racist sentiments attributed to him during his nine terms in office but it was only after an interview last year in which king questioned how, quote, white nationalists, white supremacist, western civilization, how those terms became offensive, it was only

after that that house republican leaders rebuked him by stripping him of his committee assignments. again, congressman steve king has lost his primary tonight. let's get some thoughts from angela rye. what did you think, i was going to run away from you after last night? i told you -- >> definitely not. >> it's great to have you. first let's do it in context here. the idea of people are fighting for change in america on the basis of equality, that exercise of liberty and fairness, how does that dovetail with what the elections tonight were about, and we'll get to steve king. >> well, i think first, and most importantly, the first place where we have the opportunity to exercise political power, chris-s at the ballot box. the problem is there are far too many americans who leave their power in the voting booth. so they don't exercise their taxpayer rights to hold their

elected officials accountable. they don't talk to candidates all year long and sometimes for two years. then once again, it's election time. so i think the most important thing that people can do to exercise their voting power -- or exercise their political power is going to the polls. we saw that not just with steve king but also ferguson has a new mayor. it is a black woman. right? there are all kinds of ways that we can engage in protest and then ensure that what we're saying when we're making demands, what folks are saying when they're screaming on the streets because they have not been heard, they can ensure that there are candidates who represent their best interests and most importantly meet their demands at the polls. >> steve king, losing in the primary. significance. >> it's major. this is someone who celebrated white supremacy, white nationalism, talked about immigrant children having calves the size of cantaloupes. he is truly a bigot. and it was too long that the

republican party took to remove him from his committees. it was too long that voters in iowa -- i mean, it's nine times. he's nine terms in. for them to ever reprimand him for his bigotry. for his discriminatory practices. for the things that he said that were treacherous. these are the types of things, chris, that result in the mentality that will harm someone who is different, who is other. so it's time for him to go. he should have gone a long time ago. >> what was your take on when the president was pushed about his feelings about steve king and he basically punted to, "steve king? never heard of him." >> i think -- what can we say about this president? what we can say is he conveniently turns a blind eye to white supremacy and then he also conveniently picks it up and uses terms that we know are dog whistles to gin up the base who we know for the most part

have ties to white supremacy and some types of bigotry. he gins up his base by appealing to their worst fears. and steve king did the exact same thing. they are of the same ilk. they are of the same elk. not elk. it's been a long day. >> don't have people go bear on elks out of nowhere. it's the last thing we need. there are some good elks out there. >> some good elks of good ilk. >> there are some good elks and bad elks. some good elks on both sides. >> that was nice of you to not get me on that. but i got myself. >> first of all, listen, there are plenty of people trying to play gotcha in this society. we don't need one or two more. you know, i was talking to ramsey earlier, former commissioner ramsey, about -- >> i heard. >> -- the bizarre nature of the scene. look, there's a curfew. you break the curfew, you're making a choice to break the law. you're going to get arrested maybe. you know, it depends on how they

decide to enforce it. but this isn't -- angela rye, you're in power and i'm against your decision to go to war. i think it's wrong, i hate my sons and daughters are going to pay for, it i'm protesting. and you want to arrest me, fine. i know you're within your right to do it. and i know you're within your right to send us to war. i protest. and you know what? the tax policy you just passed, it's unfair. it's wrong. and you're not going to change it. i protest. you want to put me in jail, fine. but the idea of going out and saying you've got to stop killing all these black guys, angela, people don't get prosecuted, and we've got to stop why there are so many interactions between cops and black guys, angela, you've got to even the playing field. we need more opportunities. and it's not happening. it's not just the policing. it's what leads to the policing. now i'm going to face off with the same people that i'm paying to do that job. and i'm going to go to jail for fighting for other people to not

go to jail so quickly. >> yeah. >> it just seems wrong to me on some level. >> yeah, i think it is wrong on a lot of levels, chris. today is my dad's 78th birthday. and we did a zoom call because that's how we gather these days. and he was saying on this call tonight that he is so proud of the young people who are hitting the streets for change and he cannot think of a time in his life, in his 78 years, where he's seen so many young people of all different races coming together on issues like these. not that he's never seen protests. but what i think is so important about this is this is an opportunity to meet people where they are. this is not just about one brutal police killing. this is about all of the times where folks have not felt heard. and we talked a lot about that yesterday too. so the opportunity is here for

police officers to change radically in their engagement with community folks. but that has to come from legislation. so today kamala harris, cory booker talked about introducing a radical passage -- bill that they want to pass on police violence and excessive force and the importance of that is we know that laws have to change before mentality changes. in too many instances. and this is probably one of them. right? so in addition to this sweeping legislation they want to introduce i also think it's time for us to consider a massive civil, human and economic rights act that would be introduced to ensure that there are restorative measures taken for people across the board. this is one of those times where just as the cbc members, chris, who went to richard nixon with 61 recommendations and say these are the ways in which you can make change in my community, this is that moment. this is not going to go away.

people are not going to quietly bow out and go home. they want real change. they are fed up. and little piecemeal approaches are not going to work. so i really encourage folks to look at what senator booker and what senator harris did today, because it's these kinds of steps that we need to be taking. and you know what, chris? that ally conversation that you and i started having last night on air is one that it is now time for white legislators on both sides of the aisle to have. it shouldn't just be black people calling on their legislators for broad sweeping changes. it shouldn't just be the black legislators introducing radical legislation. and it shouldn't just be black people calling for the arrest of these three other officers who have yet to meet derek in jail. right? it should be all of us calling out and screaming at the top of our lungs, what is right to do, because it's time. >> right. and that was my point about i'm not doing you a favor. you know, i'm not some ally out of convenience.

although i did like that some people were -- as me saying i don't want to help you with your civil rights. >> somebody said that? >> i'm only laughing because of the absurdity of it. that's fine. >> that's ridiculous. >> people got the resonance of the message. i have three things. one, you're absolutely right about the need for formative and restorative legislation. that's what came out of the '60s. if you don't change the rules of the game, the game doesn't change. and now you're going to have that opportunity because we're going to be coming out of this pandemic and there's going to be all this money going into legislation and the architecture of that's going to be really sensitive and there's going to be an opportunity out of crisis. that's one. two, the idea of what else we should be doing. ameri-cans will be extended on my show to showcase places where communities come up with ways to make us better together. whether it's in how they educate, whether it's in how they accommodate economically, or what they do within their communities to show what they do together where a majority and

minority mix. that will be a way for me to cover it in an ongoing way that can resonate with an audience. people like good news. not that much. not as much as they say they do. but episodically that will work. third thing, i saw you with your father. and it brought a tear to my eye because i miss my father so much and i'm so happy you that get to celebrate good times with your father who's still very young. but i had to block him. and i'll tell you why i had to block him on instagram. because he had zero posts. he had zero posts, angela. >> he's 78, chris! >> i had to block his ass. i blocked his ass. zero posts. >> you know he's watching. i'm going to have him call you. you think i'm tough. eddie rye -- >> no posts. who's on instagram with no posts, angela? nobody good. >> a 78-year-old. oh, come on. first of all, i set up his account. so that i could tag him in my posts. that is a hell of a happy birthday, chris. happy birthday, i blocked your

ass? that's not allyship, chris. in fact, the people say they wanted you to be a co-conspirator. that is not a co-conspirator. and just so you know, the moment you started this where you were like you do this, i protest, what you don't know, chris cuomo, eddie rye is a perpetual protester. that guy has signs and bullhorns in the garage. he's about to be protesting your ass since you blocked him. >> he can come -- i love the picture of you two. he looks great. i love that you have him in your life. i love that he's watching. but i'm telling you, angela, we both know when someone comes at you with a message on your thread and has zero posts in their account you know you've got to -- >> you know what you're doing? you know what this is? this is another teachable moment, chris cuomo. that is bias. we need to stretch you out. >> i am biased. i admit this. i am biased against people on instagram with zero posts on their accounts. but now that i understand that you made it, i understand now. >> listen, i have to tell you one thing.

going back to your point too, really fast. when you go out into these communities and you do these pieces, i really want you to talk to some of the protesters too. some of the folks who issued demands and they achieved change. folks like black lives matter activists who were screaming that and were deemed terrorists and everything horrible under the sun who -- like this is their doing from several years since trayvon. and i also am thinking about the young woman who is the president of the student government association at university of minnesota who got the police contract ended with the minneapolis police department. she sent a letter to her administration and within 24 hours that contract was gone. like those are the folks -- i hope you talk to the protesters and the folks who make demands too because that is where positive change comes from. >> ame richlt-cans, people who are willing to put their lives into it. not lives on the line, no reason to be dramatic. but they dedicate their life to doing this even at a young age and they make little changes that lead up to big changes in

our culture. you're absolutely right. god bless your father. may he and the family enjoy one another. it is a gift. enjoy every day that you have it, angela. believe me about that. >> thank you. i'll have him put a post up now since you're a blocker. >> suspect with no posts. thank you for being on the show. thank you for keeping us straight. god bless you and be well. seriously. happy birthday to dad. >> thank you. talk to you. >> what a gift that is to have as long in your life as you can the generation that made us who we are, that we look up to. it is a blessing every day you have with your parents. trust me on that. more ahead on tonight's unfolding protests. we're going to go back to the streets of new york city and see what's going on and hopefully what isn't going on. next. i got an oriole here.

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all right. let's go to washington, d.c. it seems the police are getting ready to remove the police officer -- the protester who are there under curfew. here's what we've been watching. almost exclusively white protesters remaining. you'll see some brown faces and black faces and white faces in there. but they've been pushing up to the fence, and then the officers have been using some kind of spray on them. i do not think it's tear gas. it's not being released in canister form. it's in kind of a blast gun. and now you see certain things being thrown back toward the police line. [ explosion ] that was fireworks that was thrown from the protesters toward the police. that's what you saw go offer there. now two other things just thrown into the police. spraying things at the police.

now, this fog that's coming back at them, i don't know what it is. i don't know if it's tear gas or what. i don't know that it's tear gas because it would be coming from behind the line of officers and military. there's alex marquardt. i don't know if you can hear us yet. we've been waiting on him and the team. if you can hear me, alex, tell us what's going on. what's the back and forth? >> reporter: we've been having this discussion over the last few nights about agitators versus protesters. this happened entirely because of agitators. this has been a peaceful protest throughout the entire day, as it was yesterday. and what happened in the last few minutes is a number of people along this new fence that was put up along lafayette park decided to start rocking it very violently. there has been no altercation between the police inside the park and these protesters all day long. there has been a handful, a small handful of things that

were thrown over the fence with absolutely no response from either the national guard or the park police all day until now. so there were i would say about a dozen, maybe 20 agitators who started rocking these eight-foot-high fences and now what you're seeing is the response from the d.c. national guard. i'm not seeing any park police. this is all military police. and they fired what looked like pepper spray projectiles. you heard the pop, pop, pop. from the guns that looked like pointball guns. did not smell any tear gas. and it sent everyone flying -- fleeing, rather. and now what you're seeing is protesters who have come back insisting that they want to protest peacefully. but this comes back to that question of when you look at these large crowds are they mostly agitators, are they mostly protesters?

there's no doubt that as evenings wear on that these things tend to get more violent. it is now 12:40 a.m. and this has taken on a decidedly different tone than what we've seen throughout the course of the entire day, chris. >> alex, do the people who are up front here identify with any particular group or organization? are they just from the local community? have they identified themselves at all? as their identification. >> reporter: no. no specific groups. they're not wearing anything that labels themselves. you know, in these types of situations we're trying to get a sense, at least by recognizing them, whether these people have been in the protests all day, whether they came along later at night. i would say it's mainly the latter. but it is of course very difficult to say. it would be completely unfair, by the way, to say that everyone that you're seeing here is an agitator looking for trouble. the vast -- there are a lot of

people who the moment there's any sort of altercation starts chanting "peaceful protest." they want this to stop. but at the same time the balance shifts the later that the day goes on. and so for most of the past few hours awful these forces have been well back from the fence, a good 50 yards. and there you go, chris. that is more rounds of what look like pepper spray rounds. you can see that smoke dispersing. the crowd angrily reacting, telling them to stop shooting. and the victim on the ground over here with her eyes watering and being tended to by fellow protesters, pouring milk in her eyes, which is a balm for this kind of thing.

and putting water in her mouth. meanwhile, other protesters trying to get those forces to stop firing. they are at that fence. now, this is both park police and national guard. there was another pop, chris. i'm not sure if you can see their guns. but they are putting those paintball-style guns through the fence and firing at these protesters. looks like this chain is being undone so they can come through. so they might be coming out shortly. >> that's not good. >> in order to -- no, it's not good. then again, chris, they might be locking it back up, which is -- let's give it a second. >> now, when i say it's not good, i mean that any altercation is by definition not good. i'm not saying they're not within their rights to enforce the curfew if they feel the

people aren't going back. i'm not saying that it's going to be, you know, unwarranted and rough on these people who are protesting because they know what choice they're make. but any altercation is just something that nobody should take any kind of pleasure in. this is really sad to see. if there are outside agitators, they're asking for this, they're provoking situations, still sad to see. it can be wrong and sad at the same time. what are you seeing, alex? >> reporter: well, i was just going to say, it looked for a second like they might be coming out here. now, chris, i'm asking my cameraman josh to turn around. this is a new row of national guard and park police taking up a position along this northern edge of the park about three yards behind this new metal fence. you can see them raising up their shields. clearly preparing for whatever may come next. and this is by far the most

dramatic twist, the most dramatic turn in what had been very peaceful protests all day. so there you have them spraying -- >> what is that? >> reporter: -- almost undoubtedly pepper spray. that is pepper spray i believe. it's coming out of what looks like a fire extinguisher. we'll get a good look at it right now. we're going to have to be careful. >> yeah, be careful. don't get too good a look at it. >> reporter: yeah. >> there it is. >> reporter: press. press. press. >> are you okay? >> reporter: yeah, we're fine. >> is josh okay? is josh okay? >> reporter: yes, josh is fine. yes, josh is fine. i'm right next to him. the whole team is fine. now we have protesters throwing gallons of milk and those forces returning fire with those pepper spray rounds. just going to give them a little distance, chris. >> good move. how many people do you think you

have there? how far down the street does it go, alex? >> reporter: well, here where we are it's really concentrated, chris. if anyone who knows d.c., this is 60th street. that goes straight to the white house. that goes straight into lafayette park. this is 8th street. so if you were to cram everybody together, they would fill up that intersection. so we're not talking about a ton of people. i would say maybe 200, 250 at most. and of course with all this action going on everybody has been spread out. as you know, it really does not take much to set things off. we had seen this fencing getting rocked back and forth. you know, at times, maybe once an hour throughout the course of the day. the police didn't respond. the agitators who were doing it got shouted down by protesters. but in the last 15 minutes clearly many of them felt this was something that they wanted to do. they started rocking that fencing. they never got through, mind you. and the -- and the d.c. national

guard inside decided to respond. and respond they have. quite forcefully. with pepper spray, with pepper rounds, which by the way when they hit you, a massive welt. it looks like a bruise the size of -- turn around. turn around. there's one right there. it's about the size of a dime. >> and this is what happened to me. >> reporter: that's the wound that it leaves. so now you have the national guard that are -- they've gone back a little bit, but it looks like they're spreading out. and it has angered the crowd, as you might imagine. but a lot of these people out here, also you'd imagine, were also spoiling for a fight. there were peaceful protesters out here, but there were a lot of people out here who wanted this kind of action, if you will with law enforcement, chris. >> yeah, one of the tactics that sometimes you see on the

security side, alex, you've probably seen this before, is if they need to concentrate force in one area because they're worried about an incursion, people breaking down the fence, then they gather. but it also makes them vulnerable to having things thrown at them from over the top and they'll usually put shields on top of their heads and in front of them if they can, and then they will spread out because it makes it harder to hit them with things. if they're only one line across, it's harder to lob things and hit them. so sometimes they flacnk out lie that to make it more difficult to hit them. other times they do it because they're getting ready to make a move onto the outside of their containment area. [ explosion ] >> reporter: and that, chris, looks like a flash bang or some sort of canister billowing smoke. clearly to disperse protesters. >> it came from security, right? >> reporter: hard to -- i believe so. >> don't know for sure? >> reporter: hard to tell where

it came from. it landed behind us. that was by far the biggest blast that we have heard tonight. protesters had been firing some fireworks. >> maybe that's what it was. because why would they have sent it there, alex? there's no crowd there. there's no reason for any maybe it was done from the protester side. >> reporter: there was a small gathering proprotesters behind us. that was not the largest group of protesters. that was next to an auxiliary building of st. john's church. that's where the president did his photo op yesterday. and that canister landed just about 30, 40 yards away. but you're right, chris. that did not appear -- if it did come from the law enforcement, it was not directed at the main group of protesters. you can hear from some of the screams up there this has

certainly angered a lot of these folks out here. but that flash bang, if indeed that's what it was, was not followed by anything else. chris, i've got to -- we should remind everybody. it's 1:00 in the morning. >> right. >> reporter: that is six hours after the curfew went into effect. we have not seen any enforcement of that curfew, not from federal law enforcement, not from d.c. local law enforcement. no law enforcement today. it's as if they were given an order to not provoke anything, to not do anything, and they have not been cracking down in any way, shape, or form on these protesters allowing them to protest peacefully until now, until they tried to knock down this fence. and if i can editorialize for a second, it's a shame to end the day this way. this was a day that was entirely embodied -- and i was just thinking about it to sum up my thoughts for the day -- that was

peaceful. and in a way like yesterday was as well until there was the violent crackdown that came about because the president wanted his photo op. and now we are seemingly ending the day on a violent note that certainly did not need to happen. and i think if you were to ask the protesters who were out here throughout the course of the day if they would want this to happen this way, for the day to finish this way, they would say absolutely not. >> watch yourself alex. throughout the day, was the racial composition of people standing there different than it is now? it seems very caucasian-heavy there right now. >> reporter: it's been fairly balanced throughout the course of the day. i would say the racial breakdown has been throughout the course of the past few days has been fairly even. but what you are seeing during

the day was the greatest chance that we've seen in cities across america. it was a chance fchants for geo breonna taylor, black lives matter, no justice, no peace. there was a lot of anger directed toward president trump. understandably there was a lot of frustration with what the president did yesterday. he essentially ordered this entire area to be cleared out, his attorney general did it, to clear out hundreds of peaceful protesters through very violent means so that he could come out of the white house, be out in public, and have that photo opportunity. so, that was really the only anger and frustration that we saw. but as far as a breakdown and who we're actually seeing out here, it is across the racial spectrum. it is from every socioeconomic walk of life. it is really a diverse group as is representative of this city

and the region, chris. >> all right. so, make sure you and the team are safe and set up from a place, a vantage point to let us know what keeps going. i'm going to take a break to reset for the top of the hour. then i'll come back to you. thanks to alex marquardt and josh the rest of his team. two things we want to know the composition of the crowd. one, the idea of what sparks change in this country. if you don't have all races and all flavors and colors involved, it makes it less likely you know there's a change. secondly there's ongoing suspicion about how it gets later into the night and you start to see more of a proportion of agitator groups and more specific groups that want confrontation. and that's something that's worth pointing out as well. doesn't mean just because you're not black that you're an agitator, but it's something to monitor and keep pace with as we're trying to understand the situation we're explaining to you.

we're going to monitor protests that are going on in washington, d.c. and all over the country here on night 8 since this flash point killing, now an alleged murder, in minneapolis. our live coverage will continue here on a late-night edition of "prime time" next. little things can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss.

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all right. welcome back to a late night edition of "prime time." it is 1:00 a.m. on the east coast. so, technically we're into tomorrow, but we are still dealing very much with the curfews of this earlier evening. curfews nationwide. but not another night of uncontrolled chaos. perspective is important. remember overwhelmingly protests are what we would call peaceful. i don't agree with the description because i don't think it's necessary. people who want to protest in this country, it's not incumbent upon them to be sweet about it. you can be outraged. you can be angry. you can yell. you can shame. you can blame. that's okay. this is america. you know, protesting doesn't have to be peaceful to be okay.

shimon prokupecz is in new york. shimon, we saw a lot of peaceful protesters, as we're calling them, but the bad stuff was not over today. what did you see? >> reporter: yeah, no, there were pockets of bad stuff. entire day -- we walked miles, the entire team, the security team, all of us walked miles up and down manhattan today with peaceful protests, people chanting, peel together. it was a day you could really see people excited to be outside again. even walking through parts of manhattan to the upper east side through lower manhattan, you know, people are outside, spectators, just people watching lining up along the streets almost like as if it was a parade, a march. they were out and they were clapping. of course at night there have been some issues but nothing like we saw last night, chris. at this hour of the night, all we were