NYC mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan arrested for blocking traffic in George Floyd protest

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Biden to host George Floyd family one year after his death

Civil Rights attorney Leo Terrell on President Biden hosting George Floyd’s family one year after his death.

New York City mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan was arrested Tuesday following a demonstration in Manhattan marking the anniversary of George Floyd’s death.

Donovan joined other activists in blocking traffic to the Holland Tunnel by kneeling in the street for nine minutes and 29 seconds – the amount of time former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.

New York police officers warned on loudspeakers that if the demonstrators did not move they would be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. 

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Five people were arrested following the warnings, including four men and one woman, reported local news outlet PIX 11.

"What happened to me today was nothing compared to the brutality that far too many Black and Brown Americans have suffered at the hands of lawless police officers like Derek Chauvin," Donovan told Fox News.

"I want to be crystal clear: George Floyd was murdered because he was a Black man. Period. If he looked like me, George would still be alive today. We will not let his death be in vain, and I will continue to partner with community leaders like Reverend McCall, who organized this demonstration, and organizations like the Crisis Action Center and Black Lives Matter to highlight the continued injustice being experienced by over-policed communities."

Donovan joined Black Lives Matter activists Chivona Newsome, Rev. Kevin McCall and attorney Sandford Rubenstein for Tuesday’s event.

McCall, who was arrested with Donovan, joked that they were "cellmates."

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"We just finished performing as we call civil disobedience for justice. Sometimes you need to do things that turn up the temperature for justice," McCall said. "You have to do extreme things … to get justice. 

"So we disrupted and performed civil disobedience," he continued. "But it’s about change. It’s about reform."

New York City’s primaries are set to be held in June.