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Police cars set on fire, protests rage into night across US

Angry crowds have defied curfew order with tear gas fired and police cars set alight as demonstrations rage into the night in US cities.

Candace SuttonCandace Sutton
@candacesutton1
4 min read
May 30, 2020 - 7:18PM
George Floyd protests: Visions of the riots raging on throughout America

Police cars have been set on fire, rioters tear gassed, shops looted and troops put on notice as violent struggles erupt on the streets and protests rage into the night across America.

In downtown Los Angeles, police shot rubber bullets at protesters after looters to the streets, and vandalised police cars.

In Brooklyn, New York, an NYPD van was set upon by protesters who rocked the vehicle and then set it alight.

A squad car in Atlanta, Georgia was set on fire in the city centre as protests descended into chaos and a state of emergency was declared in the early hours of Saturday morning.

In Detroit a 19-year-old man was shot and killed during protests.

In Minneapolis, where the unrest began four nights ago to protest the death at the hand of a police officer of African-American man George Floyd, cars were set on fire and the streets appeared lawless.

The Pentagon responded by taking the rare step of ordering active duty US military police units prepare to deploy to the city.

Soldiers from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York have been placed on four hour notice if called, AP reported.

Minnesota’s Commissioner of Public Safety told CNN the rioters were “armed and entrenched”.

Rioters in downtown Oakland, California have set the Chase Bank on fire after destroying a Walgreens store and spray painting it with “f*** all cops” and “kill cops”.

In Portland, Oregon, protesters vandalised buildings and set the justice centre on fire.

An 8pm curfew set by the Minneapolis mayor was completely ignored by protesters who instead surrounded the city police’s MPD 5th precinct.

Businesses including a gas station, a liquor store and a parking lot were torched, along with a six-story housing unit under construction.

Just minutes after the curfew had begun, CNN reported live from the streets where protesters roamed freely among burning cars with no police presence.

Despite Minneapolis authorities decreeing the National Guard would help enforce the curfew, CNN reported there was no sign of them and protesters had “taken over the streets”.

The Minneapolis Fire Department was “responding to fires throughout the city”.

Local media outlet Kare 11’s crews in the four protest areas of Minneapolis were reporting “no police nor National Guard anywhere, buildings on fire, businesses actively being looted’.

The four-lane I-35 South motorway was also “blocked with people and fire”.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has 500 Georgia Guard troops “deploy immediately” in Atlanta as riots and looting escalated.

The protests came after the arrest and charging of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who was seen kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died in custody after pleading that he could not breathe.

This has led to some activists calling their public response “I Can’t Breathe” protests.

In Brooklyn, New York, rioters rocked an NYPD van and then set it alight in one of many clashes across the borough.
In Brooklyn, New York, rioters rocked an NYPD van and then set it alight in one of many clashes across the borough.
CNN reporter Sara Sidner reports live from Minneapolis as protesters ignore the 8pm curfew and a car burns in the background.
CNN reporter Sara Sidner reports live from Minneapolis as protesters ignore the 8pm curfew and a car burns in the background.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter after enough evidence was gathered to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said on Friday.

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Shots were fired and protesters blocked traffic and smashed car windows during a demonstration in downtown Denver, one of more than 25 cities erupting across the US into Friday evening.

A car pushed through crowds and drove through a blocked street of the Colorado capital.

In San Jose, California, activists shut down busy US Highway 101 in both directions for an hour, smashing windows of police cars and other vehicles

In Atlanta, protesters threw bottles and other projectiles to break the glass of the main entrance to television network CNN’s headquarters.

A man tries to tow away a car as a local parking garage is set ablaze in Minneapolis. Picture: Chandan Khanna/AFP
A man tries to tow away a car as a local parking garage is set ablaze in Minneapolis. Picture: Chandan Khanna/AFP

In Washington DC, the U.S. Secret Service was forced to lock down The White House for an hour on Friday as protests continued in other parts of the US related to the alleged police murder of George Floyd.

In Houston, protesters complained police are assaulting them as officers surged into crowds on the streets to make arrests.

In downtown Dallas, Texas, police tear gassed protesters as the violence on the streets began escalating out of control.

In Columbus Ohio, police pepper-sprayed protesters gathered behind a street barrier.

Multiple videos of protests in Minneapolis and other US states have circulated on social media showing protesters calling for justice as furious George Floyd demonstrators flooded streets for a fourth night of rage.

In Minneapolis, protesters tore down the fence of a police station, stores were looted, a building was set on fire and a woman in a wheelchair outside a Target store was attacked.

A white Minneapolis police officer has been stood down and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter after he knelt for several minutes on the neck of George Floyd, an African American who later died.

The White House lockdown was in place for just over an hour after growing unrest in Washington and around the country against the death of George Floyd escalated.

A protester scaled the wall of a federal building and spray painted an obscenity directed at the president.

Secret Service officials had placed the President's residence on high alert in response to angry crowds gathering in Washington DC to protest the death of the 46-year-old black father in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday.

They had closed off the White House press room doors as a precaution, instructing members of the media not to leave.

Demonstrators gather across from the White House. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Demonstrators gather across from the White House. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Protesters kneel as they gather outside the White House. Picture: Nicholas Kamm / AFP
Protesters kneel as they gather outside the White House. Picture: Nicholas Kamm / AFP

Meanwhile, dozens of other demonstrations opposing police brutality sprung up across the US – with violence breaking out in Atlanta, where rioters were seen smashing windows at a CNN office in the city.

Secret Service agents were seen arresting at least one person in front of the White House, USA Today reported.

While they were under lockdown, White House journalists reported live on the scenes.

NPR reporter Tamara Keith described the "intense protest" across the street from the White House, where dozens of protesters gathered to chant "I can't breathe!", "Black lives matter", and "No justice, no peace".

Protesters gathered at 14th and U streets in Washington DC and shut down traffic for a few moments before continuing on to the White House.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/white-house-in-lockdown-as-furious-protesters-flood-streets/news-story/50148261ce72b90c05da89bec74a2b62