Trump expected to join thousands of mourners visiting Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s casket – live

Donald Trump just held a brief press conference before he left to take “an emergency phone call”. Trump did not say what the phone call was about before he left the room.

When asked to comment on Breonna Taylor’s case, Trump said that he “thought it was really brilliant”.

Trump, who said he had not been briefed on the grand jury’s decision when asked about it earlier this afternoon, said that Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron “is doing a fantastic job. I think he’s a star.” The president quoted Cameron’s statement that “justice is not easy” and “mob justice is not justice”. “I heard that I said write that down for me please,” Trump said.

“I think it’s a very positive thing it’ll all work out,” he added.

When asked about whether he will allow a peaceful transition of power if he loses the election, Trump doubled down on his anger toward mail-in ballots. “Get rid of the ballots and there will be a continuation. The ballots are out of control.”

Protests in Louisville have been going for hours since Kentucky’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, announced this afternoon the decision from a grand jury for the case of Breonna Taylor. None of the officers involved were charged for the killing.

Multiple cities are bracing for protests, but Louisville’s protest is well underway. Some protesters have been arrested for refusing to disperse on a closed-off street.

Here’s a look at what’s happening at the protest in Louisville.

The Guardian’s Kari Paul reports:

ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, requested a preliminary injunction on Wednesday against an order from Donald Trump that would ban the popular video sharing app if it is not sold to an American company by the end of the week.

The looming ban stems from an executive order the president issued on 6 August to address supposed security concerns surrounding TikTok as well as China-owned messaging app WeChat.

Both apps were to be removed from stores on 20 September, according to the executive order, unless they were sold to a US-based company.

WeChat managed to obtain an extension on Monday when a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the ban. TikTok got a one-week extension on the ban as it continued to broker a deal with tech firm Oracle regarding US operations of the app.

After that extension runs out, TikTok will be removed from app stores at 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, 27 September, prohibiting new downloads of the app and software updates for existing users.

To avoid that, TikTok is requesting “preliminary injunctive relief” that would prevent that ban from going into effect and is requesting a response from Trump and the Commerce Department by Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Missouri governor and noted mask skeptic Mike Parson and his wife, Teresa Parson, have both tested positive for Covid-19.

Parson, 65, appears to have no symptoms, but has postponed all events, including ones for his re-election campaign.

Despite pressure from public health officials, including the White House’s coronavirus taskforce, to issue a state-wide mask mandate, Parson held firm that the decision should be up to local government officials. Cases of the virus have been rising in the state, which saw a record number of new cases in a single week last week.

Throughout the summer, even as cases started to spike in Missouri, Parson was seen out in public without a mask. The governor said that he wore masks when it is required but said he did not wear one when he thinks social distancing is possible. Multiple pictures the governor posted of himself from over the summer show him shaking hands and standing close with people without a mask.

“It’s just a choice you’ve got to make,” he said.

This is Lauren Aratani taking over from Joan E Greve. Cities are bracing themselves for protests tonight following the grand jury’s decision in the case of the officers who killed Breonna Taylor.

The Associated Press spotted a few demonstrators being arrested by police in Louisville, though reasons for the arrest are unclear. Protesters have been gathering in downtown Louisville for hours since the decision was announced. The city set a curfew that will start at 9pm tonight and end at 6.30 am today morning.

Meanwhile Chicago officials are preparing for massive protests. Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked that protests remain peaceful and called for a city-wide moment of silence at 7 pm in remembrance of Taylor. Word of protests in New York City tonight have also begun to spread.

That’s it from me today. My Guardian colleague Lauren Aratani will be taking over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• A grand jury indicted one police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson faces three felony counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for blindly shooting into the apartments of Taylor’s neighbors. However, no charges were filed in direct relation to the killing of Taylor.
  
  
• Kentucky’s attorney general said the two other officers involved in Taylor’s shooting were not charged because their use of force was justified. Attorney general Daniel Cameron argued Sgt Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove were in the right because Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired off a shot before they fatally struck Taylor. But Walker has said the officers did not properly identify themselves when they entered the apartment, which Cameron denied.
• The indictment was met with rage among those who had called for the officers to be brought to justice. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Taylor family, denounced the decision as “outrageous and offensive”.
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was honored with a private ceremony at the supreme court. The late justice will lie in repose at the supreme court today and tomorrow, and Trump is expected to pay his respects to Ginsburg tomorrow.
• Members of the White House coronavirus taskforce testified before a Senate committee. The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn, pledged that the authorization of a coronavirus vaccine would be “based on science and data, not politics”.

Lauren will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the latest news in the Breonna Taylor case was “weighing really heavy on my heart.”

Ocasio-Cortez told a Capitol Hill reporter, “We know that her death is not just the result of one person but the system, structure, and department that failed their entire community.”

The Kentucky governor called on the state attorney general, Daniel Cameron, to release online all the information he can about the Breonna Taylor case.

“I believe that the public deserves this information,” said Democrat Andy Beshear. “I trust Kentuckians. They deserve to see the facts for themselves.”

Beshear argued releasing the information, without jeopardizing the three-count indictment against former officer Brett Hankinson, would help the state to heal.

Trump said he wants to confirm a ninth justice to the supreme court because he believes the court will determine the outcome of the presidential election.

“I think this will end up in the supreme court, and I think it’s very important that we have nine justices, and I think the system is going to go very quickly,” Trump told reporters moments ago.

The president has previously indicated the federal courts will need to become involved in the election because it will be tainted by fraud. Trump has provided no evidence for that extraordinary claim, and voter fraud is actually very rare.

“This scam that the Democrats are pulling, it’s a scam, the scam will be before the United States supreme court, and I think having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation,” Trump said.

The president’s implication that he wants another conservative justice to help swing the election to him will likely only further intensify tensions in the Senate as Republicans move to get a nominee confirmed before election day.

When asked whether he thought justice was served in the case of Breonna Taylor, Trump repeated his widely contested claim that he has done more for the black community than any other president besides Abraham Lincoln, who ended slavery.

The president was asked what message he had for members of the black community who feel justice was not served, after two of the police officers involved in the shooting of Taylor were not charged.

“My message is that I love the black community, and I‘ve done more for the black community than any other president, and I say with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln,” Trump said.

“Abraham Lincoln, let’s give him the nod,” he added. “But beyond that, nobody’s done more. I love the black community.”

Trump said of the indictment, “I don’t know enough about it. I heard a decision was just made. We’ve been together here, and so we haven’t discussed it. But after I see what the decision is, I will have a comment on it.”

Trump was asked about the announcement in the Breonna Taylor case, but he said he did not yet know enough about the grand jury indictment to comment.

The president told reporters he would review the indictment before his press conference at 6 pm ET tonight.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is on Capitol Hill today to attend a Senate intelligence committee briefing.

Asked about the indictment in the Breonna Taylor case, the California senator said she had not yet had the chance to fully review the indictment.

But she added, “There’s no question Breonna Taylor and her family deserve justice yesterday, today and tomorrow, so I’ll review it and then I can say more.”

A local reporter in Louisville, Kentucky, observed a militia group marching downtown after the grand jury announced its indictment in the Breonna Taylor case.

Today’s news comes a month after 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with shooting and killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Demonstrators have already taken to the streets of Louisville to protest the decision not to charge two of the police officers involved in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Mostly peaceful protests over Taylor’s shooting have been unfolding in the Kentucky city consistently since late May.

Kentucky’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, has wrapped up his press conference after a grand jury indicted one of the police officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Reactions have started pouring in, with a number of Democratic lawmakers denouncing the grand jury’s decision not to charge the other two officers involved in the shooting.

From Massachusetts senator Ed Markey:

From Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar:

From Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal:

Kentucky’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, was asked how Breonna Taylor could have been shot so many times when her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who fired at the officers, was not hit.

“That’s part of the tragedy here,” Cameron said.

Cameron has argued the police officers were justified in their use of force because Walker fired a shot at them.

But again, a 911 call placed by Walker shortly after Taylor was shot indicates he did not know the shooters were police officers.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Walker said in the call. “Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend.”