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George Floyd protests: George Floyd’s casket taken inside mausoleum

Protests over racism and police violence continue nationwide, fueled by outrage over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed last month while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Authorities have arrested four Minneapolis police officers – Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng and Tou Thao – in connection with his death. The officers have since been fired.

Floyd, 46, died on Memorial Day after police were called to investigate a report of a man trying to use what looked like a counterfeit $20. Video of his death caught by bystanders and shared on social media showed Chauvin holding his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd pleaded for air.

Live updates for Tuesday, June 9, continue below:

George Floyd’s casket taken inside mausoleum

Update 11:30 p.m. EDT June 9: George Floyd was fondly remembered Tuesday as “Big Floyd” — a father and brother, athlete and neighborhood mentor, and now a catalyst for change — at a funeral for the black man whose death has sparked a global reckoning over police brutality and racial prejudice.

More than 500 mourners wearing masks to combat the coronavirus packed a Houston church a little more than two weeks after Floyd was pinned to the pavement by a white Minneapolis police officer who put a knee on his neck for what prosecutors said was 8 minutes, 46 seconds.

Cellphone video of the encounter, including Floyd’s pleas of “I can’t breathe,” ignited protests and scattered violence across the U.S. and around the world, turning the 46-year-old Floyd — a man who in life was little known beyond the public housing project where he was raised in Houston’s Third Ward — into a worldwide symbol of injustice.

The funeral capped six days of mourning for Floyd in three cities: Raeford, North Carolina, near where he was born; Houston, where he grew up; and Minneapolis, where he died. The memorials have drawn the families of other black victims whose names have become familiar in the debate over race and justice — among them, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin.

After the service, Floyd’s golden casket was taken by hearse to the cemetery in the Houston suburb of Pearland to be entombed next to his mother, for whom he cried out as he lay dying. A mile from the graveyard, the casket was transferred to a glass-sided carriage drawn by a pair of white horses. A brass band played as his casket was taken inside the mausoleum.

Hundreds of people, some chanting, “Say his name, George Floyd,” gathered along the procession route and outside the cemetery entrance in the mid-90s heat.

Video shows prison guard mocking George Floyd killing

Update 9:50 p.m. EDT June 9: A corrections officer who participated in a counterprotest to a Black Lives Matter demonstration in New Jersey in which people reenacted the death of George Floyd was suspended after the video was widely shared on social media.

In the video, protesters march along a street Monday in Franklin Township, Gloucester County, chanting “George Floyd!” and “Black Lives Matter!” The video shows they are being escorted by local police.

They pass a private property filled with firewood for sale. Video filmed by someone marching shows a man kneeling on the neck of another man shouting unintelligibly back at protesters. Protesters shout back.

Two more men are standing nearby and one of them is filming on a cellphone. The group is standing on the roadside in front of a pickup truck outfitted with an American flag and a Trump banner. Several others are nearby. An “All Lives Matter” sign is also hanging.

Another truck shows the “thin blue line” flag, meant to show support for law enforcement workers.

The video has garnered tens of thousands of views and shares on social media.

Los Angeles officer charged with pummeling unarmed man

Update 8:55 p.m. EDT June 9: A Los Angeles police officer has been charged with assault for punching an unarmed trespassing suspect more than a dozen times in an encounter caught on video by a bystander, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Officer Frank Hernandez was charged with assault under color of authority.

Video from a bystander and cameras worn by officers shows Hernandez pummeling the man on April 27 as he stood with his hands behind his back, as if he was going to be handcuffed.

The charge comes less than a week after thousands of protesters galvanized by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis called for the ouster of District Attorney Jackie Lacey for doing little to prosecute police officers for shootings and other violence on the job.

George Floyd’s body arrives at cemetery

Update 7:45 p.m. EDT June 9: George Floyd’s body is on the final leg of a journey that has crossed the U.S., allowing mourners to pay tribute and share in his legacy.

A horse-drawn carriage carried his body into a cemetery in the Houston suburb of Pearland on Tuesday. Two white horses pulled it, and the gold-colored casket could be seen inside the carriage.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo was among people at the head of the procession, leading it into the cemetery on foot. Cars and buses followed. Many of the vehicles honked their horns as they entered.

Hundreds of people had been gathered near the cemetery for hours awaiting the arrival. Some listened to the funeral being broadcast from a church in Houston. Later, people played protest songs including Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

A brass band played as the casket was taken inside a mausoleum where Floyd will be buried in a private service for family.

College police chief fired for comments on Floyd

Update 6:50 p.m. EDT June 9: Troy University has fired its campus police chief over comments he made on social media about the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins says in a statement released on the school’s social media accounts that statements by John McCall didn’t reflect the university’s values. He says officials lost confidence in McCall’s ability to lead the Police Department.

News outlets report that McCall wrote in a Facebook post that Floyd “absolutely” helped cause his own death.

One former Minneapolis police officer is charged with murder in Floyd’s death and three others are charged with aiding in his death.

IBM quits facial recognition, joins call for police reforms

Update 5:50 p.m. EDT June 9: IBM is getting out of the facial recognition business, saying it’s concerned about how the technology can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling.

Ongoing protests responding to the death of George Floyd have sparked a broader reckoning over racial injustice and a closer look at the use of police technology to track demonstrators and monitor American neighborhoods.

IBM is one of several big tech firms that had earlier sought to improve the accuracy of their face-scanning software after research found racial and gender disparities. But its new CEO is now questioning whether it should be used by police at all.

“We believe now is the time to begin a national dialogue on whether and how facial recognition technology should be employed by domestic law enforcement agencies,” wrote CEO Arvind Krishna in a letter sent Monday to U.S. lawmakers.

IBM’s decision to stop building and selling facial recognition software is unlikely to affect its bottom line, since the tech giant is increasingly focused on cloud computing while an array of lesser-known firms have cornered the market for government facial recognition contracts.

After George Floyd killing, Trump avoids talk of racial bias

Update 4:55 p.m. EDT June 9: In his comments since George Floyd died, President Donald Trump has shared lots of opinions about the need for “law and order,” about fighting crime and the dangerous ideas of the “liberal left.” When it comes to addressing racism, not so much.

Trump has remained largely silent on that, except to argue that a strong economy is the best antidote. He insists he’s “done more for the black community than any president since Abraham Lincoln.”

But the lack of substantive discussion of racism by the White House has opened the president to criticism that he has failed to show leadership during the unrest following Floyd’s death and has inflamed the situation with his “law and order” mantra and tweets about looting and shooting, vicious dogs and ominous weapons.

Friends, family of George Floyd gather for funeral

Update 3:50 p.m. EDT June 9: The black man whose death has inspired a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice will be buried Tuesday in Houston, carried home in a horse-drawn carriage.

George Floyd, 46, will be laid to rest next to his mother. As a white police officer pressed a knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes on May 25 in Minneapolis, the dying man cried out for his mother.

His funeral will be private. A public memorial service was held Monday in Houston, where he grew up. Some 6,000 people attended.

Family remembers ‘Big Floyd,’ calls for justice at funeral

Update 3:45 p.m. EDT June 9: The family of George Floyd gave him tearful tributes and made impassioned demands for justice at his funeral.

The group of family members and close friends gathered around the podium at Fountain of Praise church in Houston and stepped up one at a time to talk about about their lost loved one.

Aunt Kathleen McGee laughed as she remembered the child family knew as Perry Jr., calling him a “pesky little rascal, but we loved him.”

Sister LaTonya Floyd was almost too overwhelmed to talk, wiping away tears and lowering her face mask to say “I’m going to miss my brother a whole lot and I love you. And I thank God for giving me my own personal Superman.”

Brooke Williams, a niece of Floyd, called for change to what she called “a corrupt and broken system.”

Two brothers and a close friend also spoke to mourn Floyd, whose death last month after a Minneapolis police officer put his knee on his neck for over eight minutes has inspired worldwide protests.

2nd man accused of driving through protesters in Memphis, Tennessee arrested

Update 3:15 p.m. EDT June 9: Authorities have arrested the second of two men accused of driving into a crowd of protesters Friday in Memphis, Tennessee, WHBQ reported.

No one was injured in the incident, which was reported around 8:40 p.m. Friday in the Cooper-Young neighborhood.

Police issued a citation Friday to Beau Albauer, 26, for disregarding a stop light. On Monday, officials charged Albauer with reckless driving and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, according to WHBQ.

He was booked Tuesday into jail.

In a separate incident, a driver identified as 18-year-old Anthony Marcuzzo was charged with reckless endangerment and reckless driving after striking at least one protester in the area on Friday, just after 7:30 p.m., WHBQ reported.

>> Read more on Fox13Memphis.com

Houston mayor to sign executive order banning the use of choke holds by police

Update 2:50 p.m. EDT June 9: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Tuesday during a funeral service for George Floyd that he plans to sign an executive order barring police from using choke and strangle holds.

“In this city, we will require de-escalation,” Turner said. "In this city, you have to give a warning before you shoot. In this city, you have a duty to intervene. In this city, we will require comprehensive reporting. In this city, you must exhaust, all alternatives before shooting.”

The announcement came just over two weeks after video surfaced on social media showing then-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee to Floyd’s neck as he pleaded for air and bystanders pleaded for Chauvin to get off him. Prosecutors said he kept his knee pressed to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, at least two of which passed after he had already lost consciousness.

Turner said Houston’s city attorney was in the process of drafting the executive order Tuesday.

“(George Floyd) took his last breath so we could breathe,” Turner said in a post on Twitter. “What folks meant for evil, we honor for good.”

District attorney’s office withdrawing charges in 39 cases connected to Pittsburgh protests

Update 2:25 p.m. EDT June 9: Officials with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors plan to withdraw charges in 39 cases connected to protests over police brutality and racism in Pittsburgh, WPXI reported.

“We do not have the evidence in these cases to suitably conduct a preliminary hearing,” District Attorney Stephen Zappala said Monday in a statement obtained by WPXI. "Until the Public Safety Director provides evidence that is both relevant and substantial, it is inappropriate to proceed with these criminal complaints.”

Officials with the Fraternal Order of Police Pitt Lodge No. 1, which represents Pittsburgh police officers, said in a statement sent to WPXI that they were “very disappointed” by the decision.

>> Read more on WPXI.com

Charlotte, North Carolina city council votes to pause funding chemical agents for police use

Update 2 p.m. EDT June 9: The city council of Charlotte, North Carolina, voted 9-2 on Monday night to stop paying for the police department’s stockpile of chemical agents meant for crowd control for one year, WSOC-TV reported.

The decision comes after video surfaced that appears to show officers boxing in hundreds of protesters on Fourth Street last week before bombarding them with tear gas, pepper balls and flash bangs, according to WSOC-TV.

“By banning the purchase of chemical agents for crowd control and dispersal for one year, the city council is diving into the minutia of this budget, dictating what it can, and cannot be used for,” said Councilman Braxton Winston, who pushed for the pause in funding.

>> Read more on WSOCTV.com

New York governor: In time of anguish, Trump ‘pours gasoline on the fire’

1:15 p.m. EDT June 9: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed disbelief Tuesday while talking about a tweet sent earlier in the day by President Donald Trump in which he speculated that the 75-year-old protester who cracked his head last week after being pushed by a police officer in Buffalo might have been part of a “set up.”

“Do you think the blood coming out of his head was staged?” Cuomo said during a news conference Tuesday. “Is that what you’re saying? You saw his head hit the pavement. You see blood on the pavement.”

Video of the June 4 situation in Buffalo showed Martin Gugino approaching police before an officer pushed him, causing him to fall onto the pavement and crack his head. Authorities then appear to walk past him as he lays on the ground, bleeding from his ears.

Two Buffalo police officers were suspended without pay and charged last week with second-degree assault for the incident.

On Tuesday morning, Trump said it looked like Gugino “fell harder than (he) was pushed.”

Speaking about the tweet Tuesday, Cuomo called the comment reckless, irresponsible, mean and crude.

“I mean, if there was ever a reprehensible, dumb comment -- and from the president of the United States,” Cuomo said. “At this moment of anguish and anger, what does he do? Pours gasoline on the fire.”

New York City police officer charged with assault after video shows him shoving protester

Update 12:10 p.m. EDT June 9: Authorities charged a New York City police officer with assault, criminal mischief, harassment and menacing after video surfaced that appeared to show him violently shoving a woman to the ground and cursing at her during protests late last month over the death of George Floyd.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Officer Vincent D’Andraia, 28, is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

“I fully support the long-held American tradition of non-violent protest,” Gonzalez said Tuesday in a statement. “As District Attorney I cannot tolerate the use of excessive force against anyone exercising this Constitutionally guaranteed right.”

In video footage and posts shared on social media, 20-year-old Dounya Zayer said she was backing up as police ordered protesters to move from near the Barclays Center. She said that when she asked authorities why they were being told to move, D’Andraia smacked her cellphone out of her hand and pushed her hard. Video taken by bystanders shows her falling and rolling into a curb.

Artists painting 'BLACK LIVES MATTER’ mural in heart of uptown Charlotte, North Carolina

Update 11:30 a.m. EDT June 9: Artists collaborating with city officials and local groups began taping off asphalt in uptown Charlotte just after sunrise Tuesday to paint “Black Lives Matter” onto the street, WSOC-TV reported.

The mural, which involves 17 artists, will stretch across Tryon Street between 3rd and 4th streets, according to WSOC-TV. Each letter of the phrase will be unique, the news station reported.

A similar project was conducted last week in Washington D.C., and in Raleigh, North Carolina, artists painted “End Racism Now” on a downtown street.

>> Read more on WSOCTV.com

Minnesota governor orders 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence for George Floyd

Update 10:35 a.m. EDT June 9: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation Tuesday ordering a moment of silence in the state to coincide with the beginning of his funeral service.

Floyd, 46, died in an encounter last month with Minneapolis police that was caught on camera and shared widely on social media, sparking protests and fueling anger over systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. and beyond. His funeral is set to begin in his hometown of Houston at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

“The world watched in horror as George Floyd’s humanity was taken from him,” Walz said in the proclamation issued Tuesday.

“We will not wake up one day and have the disease of systemic racism cured; we must do everything in our power to come together to deconstruct generations of systemic racism in our state so that every Minnesotan – Black, Indigenous, Brown, or White – can be safe and thrive."

Jacksonville, Florida, mayor vows to remove all confederate monuments in city

Update 10:20 a.m. EDT June 9: Mayor Lenny Curry of Jacksonville, Florida, announced plans Tuesday to remove the city’s confederate monuments and to walk with demonstrators protesting against systemic racism and police violence, WJAX-TV reported.

“All confederate monuments will be removed in the city,” Curry said Tuesday, according to WJAX-TV.

The news station reported earlier Tuesday that work crews removed a statue and plaque from downtown Jacksonville’s Hemming Park which honored fallen Confederate soldiers. The battle over the monument and others like it was reignited by recent protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, according to WJAX-TV.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Chris Coney was among those to call for the removal of the monument Friday.

“Our revisionist history would tell us that it’s there to honor men fighting for state’s rights, but true history would tell us that in the cornerstone address, Alexander Stevens said that our states are built on the fact that the negro is inferior and slavery and subordination is his normal and natural state,” Conley said, according to WJAX-TV. “That’s true history.”

Trump speculates 75-year-old shoved, seriously injured by police could be part of ‘set up’

Update 9:45 a.m. EDT June 9: President Donald Trump on Tuesday questioned whether the 75-year-old man who was knocked over last week by police in Buffalo, New York, in an incident caught on video could be part of a “set up.”

The president claimed video of the situation June 4 in Niagara Square showed Martin Gugino “fell harder than he was pushed” and speculated that Gugino “could be an ANTIFA provacateur."

In a statement obtained by WKBW, Gugino’s attorney, Kelly Zarcone, said there was “no need to go around name calling, accusing people of being things they’re not.”

“Martin has always been a peaceful protester,” Zarcone said, according to WKBW. “I don’t know where that comes from.”

It’s not the first time Trump has blamed antifa-aligned protesters for violence at demonstrations against police brutality, which spread nationwide after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police last month. However, The Associated Press reported that little evidence has been offered to support the claim.

Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

Video of the June 4 situation in Buffalo showed Gugino approaching police before an officer pushed him, causing him to fall onto the pavement and crack his head. Authorities then appear to walk past him as he lays on the ground, bleeding from his ears.

Two Buffalo police officers were suspended without pay and charged last week with second-degree assault for the incident. Authorities continue to investigate.

Venus Williams urges people to keep speaking out about systemic racism: ‘We MUST win’

Update 9:15 a.m. EDT June 9: Tennis superstar Venus Williams took to social media Monday to encourage people to continue to speak out against police violence and systemic racism in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.

“I’m amazed at the solidarity that has erupted across the USA,” Williams said in a post shared on Instagram. “It has brought me to tears.”

She used her part in the fight to get women equal prize money during the tennis Grand Slam tournaments as an example of why “racism is not only a ‘black issue.'"

“When the majority groups stay quiet, when they sit in the chair of disbelief, they unwittingly condone the oppression of marginalized groups,” she wrote. “Those with power and privilege actually have an easier time getting heard. They must CONTINUALLY exercise that privilege!”

View this post on Instagram

I am deeply saddened that it has taken multiple acts of police brutality to make people painfully aware of the racism that still pervades America. It shouldn’t. This just scratches the surface of the hideous face of racism in America. Take a moment to imagine this: If police brutality can exist and be tolerated so many years at this scale, imagine the other insidious acts of racism that permeate our country: In the workplace. In the justice system. In the healthcare system. In the education system. ... Speaking up about racism in the past was unpopular. It was shunned. No one believed you. Until you have walked in these shoes, as an African American, it is impossible to understand the challenges you face in the country, in this world. What it is like to be unheard, thought of foolish, silly or reckless to believe that racism still exists at every level. This is no longer falling on deaf ears. I’m amazed at the solidarity that has erupted across the USA. It has brought me to tears. In the past, I had the honor of fighting for equal prize money for all women’s players at the grand slams in tennis. To make this even more simple to understand, just as sexism is not only a "women's issue," racism is not only a "black issue." When we fought for and won equal prize money, everyone pitched in, men and women, all colors all races. And we won. When the majority groups stay quiet, when they sit in the chair of disbelief, they unwittingly condone the oppression of marginalized groups. Those with power and privilege actually have an easier time getting heard. They must CONTINUALLY exercise that privilege! We MUST win! We cannot let systematic racism persist. We have to love one another.  Help one another.  Listen to one another, believe one another, even if we don’t understand or will never walk in our neighbor’s shoes. Keep speaking out. Speak out today, tomorrow, next month, next year, each and every day until all is equal for African Americans. I am so happy, so relieved, as an African American, to finally be heard. I pray for those who have lost their lives and for their families so America could finally wake up and act. #blacklivesmatter

A post shared by Venus Williams (@venuswilliams) on

New policy requires Cambridge, Massachusetts police to intervene in cases of excessive force

Update 8:45 a.m. EDT June 9: Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville Bard on Monday implemented a new “general order” aimed at preventing police brutality by requiring officers to intervene if they witness excessive force being used, WFXT reported.

According to the order, all sworn members of the Cambridge Police Department should “either stop, or attempt to stop, another member of the Department when force is being unreasonably applied or is no longer required” in a situation.

Prior to this policy change, officers were only required to tell a supervisor if they saw another officer using excessive force, WFXT reported. They were not required to step in and try to stop the situation themselves.

>> Read more on Boston25News.com

Governor convening task force to evaluate policing in Washington state

Update 8:30 a.m. EDT June 9: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced plans Monday to convene a task force to evaluate policing and police brutality in the state in the wake of ongoing protests over the killing of George Floyd, according to KIRO-TV.

“I hear you - Black lives matters and because of many of these protests, many people are starting to understand the real meaning of that term,” Inslee said at a news conference.

The panel will include local leaders and members of law enforcement, the governor said. He did not say when the task force would launch or who specifically would participate, KIRO-TV reported.

>> Read more at KIRO7.com

Police union chapter president apologizes for posts recruiting Minneapolis, Buffalo officers

Update 5:35 a.m. EDT June 9: The president of the Brevard Fraternal Order of Police behind the now-deleted remarks over the weekend inviting officers who’d resigned or been disciplined in Minneapolis; Buffalo, New York; and Atlanta to seek employment as law enforcement officers in Florida is now apologizing for his comments.

Minneapolis officers ... we WILL NOT disband our LE agencies or give in ... we are hiring in Florida. Lower taxes, no spineless leadership, conflicting orders or dumb mayors rambling on at press conferences... Plus... we got your back!” one tweet read.

The other now-deleted posts featured the same phrasing but was directed at officers in Atlanta and Buffalo, both cities where officers recently have been disciplined or charged with using excessive force during protests over race relations and policing in the U.S.

According to WFTV, the president of the Brevard Fraternal Order of Police, Lt. Robert Gamin, who later admitted to writing the post, issued an apology Monday afternoon.

“I let my emotions and frustration get the better of me as a result of all the continually negative media portrayals of law enforcement,” he said. “My intent was to respond to some of the negative messaging and offer a supportive message to all the men and women in law enforcement. Clearly, I failed doing so.”

Officials are now investigating if the lieutenant violated any department policy. He is still employed by the Sheriff’s Office, which the sheriff said has no official affiliation with the department.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a statement that the Brevard County FOP Facebook page has no official affiliation with the Sheriff’s Office and was not authorized to recruit officers on the department’s behalf.

“While I absolutely understand everyone’s concerns regarding this post and (its) inflammatory nature, please understand and accept that our agency had nothing to do with its occurrence and does not condone (its) content in any way,” Ivey said.

A MESSAGE FROM SHERIFF WAYNE IVEY REGARDING FACEBOOK POST BY “BREVARD COUNTY F.O.P.” Earlier today it came to my...

Posted by Sheriff Wayne Ivey on Monday, June 8, 2020

Melbourne police Chief David Gillespie also spoke out against the Facebook posts in a statement Monday.

“Our agency works very hard to hire quality people who we believe will be good representatives of high moral character. It is what we expect of our officers and what the community expects,” Gillespie said. “We do not agree or condone the messages that Brevard FOP has put on its Facebook page and do not support such inflammatory remarks.”

The Cocoa Police Department also took to social media to say the department does not “support or condone” the messages posted by the FOP page.

Read more here.

Oprah Winfrey to host 2-night town hall on racism

Update 2:51 a.m. EDT June 9: Amid the nationwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, TV mogul Oprah Winfrey is planning to host a two-night town hall on her network, OWN.

According to Atlanta’s WSB-TV, “OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here?” will air at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday and Wednesday, where Winfrey will speak “directly with a range of black thought leaders, activists and artists about systematic racism and the current state of America,” a news release about the event said.

“I’ve been having private conversations with friends and thought leaders about what’s next and where we go from here,” Winfrey said. “I thought it would be both of interest and service to bring their ideas, concerns and comments into a national spotlight.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams are among the guest speakers. Others include journalist Charles M. Blow, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Stanford professor and author Jennifer Eberhardt, journalist and “1619 Project” founder Nikole Hannah-Jones, historian and author Ibram Kendi, actor David Oyelowo, Color of Change founder Rashad Robinson and NAACP national board member the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II.

Private funeral service for Floyd to be held today in Houston

Update 1:08 a.m. EDT June 9: Mourners will gather to remember George Floyd during a private funeral Tuesday in Houston.

According to KHOU-TV, the service, set for 11 a.m. CDT at the Fountain of Praise church, will feature a eulogy by the Rev. Al Sharpton and a video message from former Vice President Joe Biden, who met with the family Monday but will not attend the ceremony in person. Guests, who must be invited, include celebrities and public figures such as Leela James, Slim Thug, Floyd Mayweather, and U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green. Members of the public can watch a livestream of the service on the church’s website.

After the funeral, Floyd will be entombed at Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, KHOU reported. That service also will be private.

Read more here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.