George Floyd protests: Photos of US rallies, riots

Police have responded with aggression to mass protests around America over the weekend, firing pepper spray and rubber bullets.

Police cars were blown up, windows were smashed and graffiti that levelled threats against American police officers were seen across the US over the weekend as the country’s protests continued.

The turbulence sparked by the death of George Floyd - an African American man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for several minutes - shook not only the streets of New York and Los Angeles, but dozens of smaller communities such as Fargo, North Dakota, and Lincoln, Nebraska.

Peaceful protests involving tens of thousands of people on Saturday gave way, in some places, to violence, with police vehicles torched, stores emptied and objects hurled at officers.

But a number of powerful, peaceful moments have also gone viral.

One showed an African-American woman kneeling in front of armed police during a protest on East Santa Clara Street in San Jose, California over the weekend.

RELATED: Live coverage of US riots

A protester takes a knee during a #SanJose protest on Friday after #GeorgeFloyd's death in #Minneapolishttps://t.co/F7x74e8xmq@mercnews @EastBayTimes #GeorgeFloydprotest pic.twitter.com/2vfUo3IO9o

— Dai Sugano (@daisugano) May 30, 2020

The photo was captured by Dai Sugano, a photojournalist at The Mercury News who has also captured many scenes of the increasingly violent protests and looting following Floyd’s death.

Another incredible moment happened in Shreveport, Louisiana where an emotional protester broke down in tears and was comforted by a police officer.

#ShreveportProtest Confederate statue supporters were also at the protest.

After speaking with them, this protester & a SHREVEPORT officer had an emotional connection with everything happening in America.

A moment between two strangers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NWUmnaNAUh

— Jade Jackson (@IAMJADEJACKSON) June 1, 2020

Elsewhere, the police response varied from restrained to aggressive, with officers at times firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Police and peaceful protesters alike pleaded for a stop to violence, saying it weakened calls for justice and reform.

Pictures showed the aftermath of the horrific and violent protests.

A woman is helped after being hit with pepper spray during a protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Picture: Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP

Other protesters doused her in milk to ease the sting of the pepper spray. Picture: Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP

Graffiti in Los Angeles, California. Picture: Valerie Macon/AFP

A destroyed security station, burned at the Grove Mall, in Los Angeles. Picture: Valerie Macon/AFP

Workers haul away the broken front window of a Bank of America branch in Lower Manhattan. Picture: Kathy Willens

A man yells at police in Denver, Colorado. Picture: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images/AFP

A police car burns after protesters marched to the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. Picture: Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

Demonstrators paint on the CNN logo during a protest in Atlanta. Picture: Mike Stewart

A police car is vandalised during rioting. Picture: John Amis/Agence France-Presse/ AFP

Activists celebrate as a building in Centennial Olympic Park burns in Atlanta. Picture: John Amis/AFP)

Shattered glass hangs from the doorway of a 7-Eleven store in Chicago. Picture: Charles Rex Arbogast

A man looks at the broken windows at a Pittsburgh Starbucks. Picture: Gene J. Puskar/AP

A burned-out and abandoned New York City Police vehicle. Picture: Kathy Willens

A person jumps on a burning police vehicle in Los Angeles. Picture: Ringo H.W. Chiu

A Los Angeles Police Department kiosk is seen ablaze in The Grove shopping centre during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Picture: Mark J. Terrill/AP

A man passes a burnt-out bank in La Mesa, California. Picture: Gregory Bull

A man rides through an emptied Kmart in Minneapolis. Picture: John Minchillo

People work outside a damaged courthouse. Picture: Jeff Chiu/AP

A firecracker thrown by protesters explodes under police one block from the White House in Washington DC. Picture: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP

A protester rides past a burning police car during a demonstration next to the city of Miami Police Department. Picture: Wilfredo Lee

A man uses a fire extinguisher to try to put out the remainder of a fire after a riot broke out in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Picture: Chris Juhn/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News