Anonymous - the international activist/hacktivist collective/movement - has today tweeted President Donald Trump directly, calling for his resignation and the "fall of the regime".
Tweeting to their 3.4 million Twitter followers, the group of hacktivists said:
"Goodmorning @realDonaldTrump did you sleep well in your bunker? We call on you to resign right now.
"The people demand, the fall of the regime. #ICantBreathe #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter"
In less than two hours since posting the tweet, it has already received more than 41,000 retweets and 166,000+ likes (as of this writing).
This comes after a weekend of both peaceful and chaotic protests across the US, including mass gatherings outside of the White House.
The New York Times reports that last night, hundreds gathered outside of the White House, leading to its exterior lights to be shut off.
The Telegraph reports that the Secret Service rushed President Trump to a White House bunker on Friday night. The publication states:
"Mr Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker, which was designed for use in emergencies like terrorist attacks, according to a Republican close to the White House who was not authorised to publicly discuss private matters and spoke on condition of anonymity."
When news of Trump's apparent time in the bunker was revealed, #BunkerBoy quickly trended on Twitter.
It has been one week since the death of 46-year-old George Floyd - a black man who died shortly after being restrained and arrested by Minneapolis police in the neighborhood of Powderhorn.
Video footage of Floyd's death showed former police officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee on Floyd's neck for a total of nearly nine minutes.
Per state charging documents, bodycam footage also showed that Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for two minutes and 43 seconds after Floyd had become non-responsive.
Floyd's tragic passing sparked a series of protests and riots not only across the nation, but in cities across the world, as people called for justice for Floyd, a stop to police brutality, and for discrimination against black people to finally come to an end.
These protests have seen people from all backgrounds and races, celebrities, and even cops themselves march in unison in cities from Los Angeles to New York in order to spread the message that Black Lives Matter.
However, over the last few days, protests have turned chaotic - with riots, violence, and looting erupting across the nation.
On Friday night, President Trump tweeted that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts", writing:
"I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right
"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"
In a follow-up tweet, Anonymous have now revealed that they are investigating last night's protests in Washington D.C.
They tweeted: "We demand all prisoners are released and their safety guaranteed.
"As the day goes on, we'll find out more about the events in D.C. from the protestors themselves and we ask everyone to avoid spreading fear as that is the goal of the Trump regime and the bots in #DCblackout."
