Hundreds of people mourned in the US city of Minneapolis on Thursday, George Floyd, who died after the police violently treated him as a nationwide wave of protests, reached the doorstep of the White House and sparked a debate about race and justice; Thousands also participated in his memorial service in New York.
"Everyone wants justice, we want justice for George and he will have it," his brother, Vilonis Floyd, said at a memorial service at a church at North Central University in Minnesota.
Wearing a dark jacket and wearing a badge bearing a picture of his brother and the phrase "I can't breathe," added Philones: "It is amazing, all these people came to see my brother, surprising how he touched the hearts of many."
Floyd's death on May 25 became the latest sign of anger over police brutality against African Americans, which pushed the issue of race to the top of the political agenda five months before the US presidential election on November 3.
Derek Chauven, 44, was expelled from the Minneapolis police force, and the judicial authorities charged him with second-degree murder after appearing in a widely circulated video, and he had perched on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, while the latter repeatedly moaned, "Please , I can not breathe".
Police say they suspect Floyd, 46, has used counterfeit money to pay for cigarettes.
Large numbers of protesters had defied the curfew and took to the streets of cities across the United States for nine nights, in protests sometimes marred by violence that prompted President Donald Trump to threaten to use the military.
"It will take a united effort inside and outside the courtroom to bring justice to George Floyd," said Ben Cramp, a lawyer for the Floyd family, during the ceremony.
The prosecution brought new charges against four former Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd's death on Wednesday.
And yesterday, Thursday, three officers were accused of participating and complicity in killing Floyd before the court for the first time, and a bond worth one million dollars was set for their release, but it will be reduced to 750 thousand dollars if they agree to specific conditions that include the abandonment of any personal weapons. In New York City - which witnessed looting during the protests - thousands participated in a memorial service for Floyd at Brooklyn Park.
Many knelt at the grass in a symbolic expression to protest the police behavior, and chanted, "No justice, no peace."
New York Mayor Bill de Palacio - who was booed by some as he stepped onto the stage - called on whites to do more to understand the African American community.
He said, "For us who have never found ourselves in the position of black or colored societies, we who know white discrimination, we must do more because we do not fully realize the daily pain caused by racism in this society."
Accusation of foreign groups and extremists
US Secretary of Justice William Barr confirmed the intervention of foreign groups and extremists to fuel division in the protests in the United States.
In a press conference today, Barr accused foreign interests and extremist agitators affiliated with groups such as Antiva, of being behind these moves.
"We saw evidence that Antiva and other similar extremist groups, as well as parties from a variety of different political backgrounds, were involved in inciting and participating in violent activity," Barr added, without elaborating.
In another racist case that received attention nationwide, a court heard on Thursday that one of the white men accused of killing Ahmed Arbiri - a black man who was defenseless - in Georgia, used a racist description after he was shot and before the police arrived at the scene.
Special Agent Richard Dial - an investigator for the prosecution - quoted William Brian as saying that Travis McMichael uttered racist expression after the shooting of Arberry in February; Brian and McMichael are charged in the case.
"Mr. Brian said that after the shooting before the police arrived, while Mr. Arberry was on the ground, Travis McMichael heard saying: A damn nigger," Dial said in his testimony before the court.
Floyd's funeral service will last six days, and will take place across three states.
Media said that a ceremony will also be held on Saturday in Hook County, North Carolina, where Floyd's sister lives, and in Houston on Monday near the place where Floyd lived, and a funeral will be held on Tuesday, including a special mass at an undisclosed location.
Thousands hail Floyd in New York
In New York, thousands of protesters participated in a memorial service for George Floyd held in the Brooklyn neighborhood, where his brother Terence Floyd and a number of family members who also attended the memorial service lived.
The participants chanted slogans demanding justice during the ceremony, which was also attended by the city's mayor and legislators from the state congress.
The demonstrations continued for the tenth day in front of the White House, as well as demonstrations in several American cities, including Atlanta, Georgia, demanding justice for people of African descent and protesting the killing of George Floyd, and the march began from the Martin Luther King Center.
Bernice King, daughter of pastor Martin Luther King, spoke before the gathering, calling on protesters not to abandon their demands, stressing the need to keep the protests peaceful.
Military units in Washington
In the aftermath of the current protests, the mayor of the American capital, Washington, called Morr Bawzer for the withdrawal of all military units from the capital.
Bowser added at a press conference that the soldiers can exercise the role of the police in federal gardens, such as Lafayette Park, which is located opposite the White House, noting that the progress of the soldiers towards any of the city's streets is rejected by the local government.
Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted a senior US defense official as saying that the Pentagon has decided to return a number of regular soldiers who have deployed in the vicinity of Washington, DC, to their previous bases.
In the implications of the deployment of military units in cities, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she sent a message to President Donald Trump expressing concern to him about the increased military presence in Washington.
Pelosi told a news conference that there were soldiers at the memorial of President Abraham Lincoln, and the states had sent National Guard forces to the capital.
She added that she wanted to know according to which authority those forces were sent from the states to the capital, and what her mission was, and who is responsible for that?
Pelosi expressed concern about the work of elements from various security forces, who said they were undercover, because this might allow violations in her eyes and suggest the possibility of impunity.
Pelosi said she was working with lawmakers on a bill called "Heroes" to ensure equal justice for all, and she hoped it would be passed in the Senate.