Inside the movement to ‘defund the police’

THE GIANT YELLOW LETTERS SPELLING out BLACK LIVES MATTER span two blocks just north of the White House and are visible by satellite. Democratic mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned the mural to send a message to President Donald Trump. But some of the racial-justice protesters who have flooded the streets of the capital wasted no time sending the mayor one of their own. DEFUND THE POLICE, they painted on the pavement just a few feet away.

Since the May 25 killing of George Floyd, protesters have turned that message into a nationwide rallying cry. In New York City, there are growing cries from both activists and officials to cut the police department’s $6 billion annual budget, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to cut an unspecified amount. In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric