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Footage shows hundreds of people taking to the streets and police cars burning in Los Angeles as protests continue to escalate across multiple US cities, following the murder of George Floyd.
Video shared to Twitter shows a police car being set on fire in the middle of a road in LA and there are reports of huge crowds facing off against police in the heart of the city.
"Tensions are extremely high in Los Angeles," one Twitter user said, alongside images of the protests in the city.
A curfew is looming in LA, but it is feared rioting could continue into the evening..
Across the US, several city leaders are now desperately urging protesters to stop the "chaos", after police buildings were burned, patrol cars vandalised and stores looted.
Tensions are EXTREMELY high in Los Angeles and it's only 3pm. Happening in the Fairfax District. Watch AIR7HD now on @ABC7
The crowds in #LosAngeles have the police surrounded right now in the Fairfax district
Los Angeles right now.. Ask yourself… Why is this happening all over.. Not just Minneapolis….? Because this BS is and has been happening in EVERY state!
‘The People Have Had Enough!’ twitter.com/tylinj23/statu…
Earlier today, in Florida, a pickup truck drove through an intersection where protesters were demonstrating, causing people to run screaming out of the way as the vehicle stopped and started and at one point had a person on its hood, according to witnesses and video posted on social media.
Tallahassee Mayor John E. Dailey tweeted later that the driver was taken into custody after hitting the crowd at a low rate of speed. He says no one was seriously injured.
Video shows the truck stopped at a traffic light, and protesters walking around and near it while appearing to speak to the driver. The truck then suddenly accelerates.
Lucas von Hollen, an instructor at Florida State University, said he saw the incident as protesters were chanting and marching as in a standard demonstration, but then he heard a distinct scream of fear.
President Donald Trump says he will not tolerate mob violence during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
READ MORE:
• George Floyd death: Arrested Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's wife announces she is leaving him
• George Floyd killing: National Guard mobilised amid clashes with police
• George Floyd killing: Minneapolis cop charged with murder after kneeling on neck
• George Floyd death: Barack Obama, Oprah, Jamie Foxx call for justice
The president made the comment as he spoke in Florida after watching the successful launch of a SpaceX rocket Saturday. He turned his attention to the unrest in American cities following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis before he congratulated NASA and others involved in the space mission.
Trump says the rule of law is the crown jewel of the country and that "my administration will stop mob violence and we'll stop it cold."
Multiple cities are issuing curfews in an attempt to get the violence under control.
HAPPENING NOW IN DALLAS:
Multiple occupied squad cars being damaged by rioters.
Protesters who disagree with the violence being shouted down.
Cops have begun to use tear gas & have called in the paddy wagon.
DEVELOPING: Chaos near the White House as protesters clash with Secret Service.
Agents repeatedly warned the protesters of unlawful assembly before incident escalated. #dcprotest
AP reports that in Washington, several hundred people shouting "Black Lives Matter" and "I can't breathe" converged on the White House for a second straight day to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and President Donald Trump's response.
Trump earlier on Saturday belittled the protesters and he pledged to "stop mob violence."
Speaking in Florida after watching the launch of a SpaceX rocket, the president said: "I stand before you as a friend and ally to every American seeking justice and peace, and I stand before you in firm opposition to anyone exploiting this tragedy to loot, rob, attack and menace. Healing, not hatred, justice, not chaos are the missions at hand."
Three lines of barricades separate protesters from a loose line of uniformed police officers at Lafayette Park, across from the White House. At one point, the protesters left the park, chanting as they marched up a nearby street. A block from the White House, they held a moment of silence and brief sit-in.
Atlanta's mayor announced a curfew will be in effect from 9pm Saturday to sunrise Sunday following violence that erupted in the city.
halsey and yungblud standing on top of a car in the middle of the los angeles protests, using their fame and privilege as they should. we love to see it
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the curfew during a news conference Saturday evening.
She called it a "very unusual and extreme step" after the violence that rocked Atlanta during Friday night.
Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency early Saturday to activate the state National Guard as violence flared in Atlanta.
In Friday's protests, some demonstrators smashed police cars and spray-painted the iconic logo sign at CNN headquarters downtown. Police say at least three officers were hurt and there were multiple arrests as protesters shot at officers with BB guns and threw bricks, bottles and knives.
Atlanta officials said crews were temporarily unable to reach a fire at a restaurant because of crowds of protesters.
In New York, protesters returned to the streets for a third straight day as Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded for calm after a demonstration in Brooklyn the previous night descended into chaos that left people bloodied and vehicles burned.
On Saturday, a large crowd marched through Harlem, chanted outside a police precinct and then blocked traffic on the highway along Manhattan's East River.
Demonstrations of several thousand at Union Square and outside Brooklyn's Prospect Park appeared mostly peaceful. Late in the day, protesters in Brooklyn confronted police, who shoved some of the demonstrators and used an irritating chemical spray.
De Blasio expressed solidarity with demonstrators upset over police brutality, but promised an independent review of the Friday night confrontation in which both protesters and police officers engaged in violence.
The mayor said he was upset by videos of the clashes in which "protesters were handled very violently" by police and by reports that a state senator and member of the state Assembly were among the people sprayed with irritating chemicals by officers.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in downtown Chicago hours after protesters clashed overnight with police.
A crowd converged on Chicago's Loop for Saturday's protest march, during which at least one flag was burned, and some protesters climbed onto a bus and a light pole and surrounded police officers.
Following the overnight clashes with protesters, Chicago officials are urging that demonstrators remain peaceful. Demonstrations are expected throughout the weekend over Floyd's death.
Chicago police Superintendent David Brown says peaceful protests that began Friday afternoon turned more confrontational as the night wore on, resulting in 108 arrests.
Protesters blocked traffic along major streets, threw bottles and other objects at police vehicles and shattered the windows of downtown businesses.
The governor of Ohio is calling out the Ohio National Guard and also asking the highway patrol to help enforce laws in Columbus as the mayors of the state capital and Cleveland both announce 10pm curfews following damage to businesses amid protests over the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd.
Gov. Mike DeWine said Saturday that the vast majority of protesters want "simply to be heard" and focus attention on the death of Floyd, a black man who died after a white officer pressed a knee into his neck.
But the governor adds that sadly the calls for justice and change are "being drowned out by a smaller group of violent individuals." He says that "acts of violence cannot, and will not, be tolerated."
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther says he believes racism "is a public health and safety crisis" and he wants to see a more equitable city, but "we are now at a point that we can no longer tell who is protesting for change and an end to racism and who has only chaos and destruction in mind."
Ginther says more than 100 public and private properties in Columbus had been damaged and at least 10 robbed of goods. He says five police officers were injured by thrown bricks or rocks and police vehicles have been set afire.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent more than 1500 state troopers to various Texas cities to help control protests.
Abbott said in a news release Saturday that troopers are being sent to Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says on Twitter that nearly 200 people were arrested Friday and most will be charged with obstructing a roadway as several protesters blocked an interstate and a highway.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Austin on Saturday outside police headquarters and then marched along Interstate 35.
Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving and pleading for air.
A television news reporter in Columbia, South Carolina, was injured by rocks thrown during protests outside the city's police headquarters over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
WIS-TV anchor Judi Gatson tweets that reporter Miranda Parnell was being taken to the hospital to be "checked out" after Saturday's incident.
The tweet says Parnell reported that "a person wearing a MAGA hat showed up at the rally, protesters confronted that person & then rocks were thrown."
Several hundred people participated in the demonstration, tearing down the US flag and the South Caroline state flag in front of the police.
The State newspaper reports that some protesters swarmed a police car, breaking its windows.
Police in Las Vegas say 80 protesters were arrested and 12 police officers injured during violence Friday that followed a peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd after he was restrained by Minneapolis police.
According to police, the protest on the Las Vegas Strip began with up to 300 people gathering peacefully. But police say rocks were thrown at police and property was damaged several hours later when officers tried to disperse the crowd as tensions mounted. Police said the arrests were made when protesters refused to disperse.
Police initially said at least 31 people were arrested. Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving and pleading for air.
