Protesters break curfew on another night of fury and frustrations over George Floyd’s killing

Protests over the death of George Floyd raged from coast to coast — with crowds breaking curfew in major cities on another night of fury and frustrations.

Fires burned and and tear gas canisters flew in Minneapolis as people threw objects at officers. In Seattle, smoke filled the air as police in riot gear lined up outside stores. And in Philadelphia, firefighters doused blazes and officers chased a group of protesters down the streets for violating curfew. The words “I can’t breathe” were scrawled on a building not far from where smoke billowed.

Looters ransacked stores on the famous Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, leaving shelves bare and setting some buildings ablaze.

The National Guard dispatched to Washington, DC, to assist police handling protests around the White House, authorities said.

At least 25 cities have imposed curfews and numerous states activated National Guard forces in anticipation of another night of protests, sparked in part by the death of Floyd — who was unarmed and handcuffed — while in Minneapolis police custody.

The former officer seen in a video kneeling on Floyd’s neck was arrested and charged. Protesters are demanding the arrest of three other officers at the scene.

Live updates: Protests spread nationwide

Latest developments

• City curfews: A curfew is underway in cities like Atlanta, Philadelphia and Milwaukee until Sunday morning. Mayors in cities like Denver, Cincinnati, Louisville and Salt Lake City imposed evening curfews that will expire Monday morning.

• Officer injured: A Philadelphia bike officer trying to stop people involved in looting was run over by the suspects while escaping. The officer is in the hospital with a broken arm and other injuries. At least 12 other officers were injured.

• National Guard: Several states and the District of Columbia have either activated or requested assistance from the National Guard, including Minnesota, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado and Kentucky.

• 21-year-old shot: A young man was killed Friday night in downtown Detroit where protests were taking place. Police had previously said the victim was 19 and that they could not confirm whether the victim was part of the protests.

Minnesota officials say outsiders are hijacking protests

State and local authorities said the violence in Minneapolis was being fueled by outsiders.

“Nothing we do to provide justice” for Floyd “matter(s) to any of these people who are out here firing upon the National Guard, burning” businesses and “disrupting civil life,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told reporters on Saturday.

The governor said he understands that “Minnesotans’ … inability to deal with inequality” and racism was the catalyst for the protests — but he said rough estimates indicate only 20% of protesters there are Minnesotans.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said everyone arrested in his city on Friday night was from out of state.

A CNN analysis of data from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office showed that more than 80% of those booked into jail on riot and other potentially riot-related charges over the last two days were from Minnesota.

Of the 51 people booked into jail between noon Thursday and noon Saturday on riot, unlawful assembly, burglary or damage to property charges, a total of 43 had an address listed in Minnesota, the data showed.

The data only covers people booked into jail, not necessarily all arrests. Hennepin County includes Minneapolis, but not St. Paul.

John Harrington, the state public safety commissioner, said that assertions about outside agitators come partly from arrest data as well as information from fliers and online postings.

Officials did not provide further details about who exactly was fueling the unrest and where they were from. Harrington said he hoped to release more information later Saturday.

US Attorney General William Barr said the “voices of peaceful protest are being hijacked by violent radical elements” pursuing “their own separate and violent agenda.”

Without citing evidence, the attorney general said that in many places “it appears the violence is planned, organized, and driven by anarchic and left extremist groups, far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom traveled from outside the state to promote the violence.”

A Justice Department spokeswoman later said the information underpinning Barr’s assertion came from state and local law enforcement.

Vandalism in Los Angeles and Chicago

Protests were underway Saturday in cities like Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, where several Secret Service vehicles were vandalized with graffiti outside the White House.

A demonstration in Los Angeles led to clashes between police and protesters. Police vehicles were vandalized in Los Angeles by some protesters who kicked in the windows or sprayed the cars with graffiti. Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators, who chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “George Floyd.”

Aerial footage from CNN affiliate WLS showed protesters in Chicago vandalizing police vehicles. Some threw water bottles at police officers in riot gear, while others were seen lifting police barricades and throwing them at police cars.

In Philadelphia, police said protests at City Hall and the Art Museum began peacefully before a group of others began “committing criminal acts, including vandalism.”

In Atlanta, police braced for more potential protests and arrests Saturday night. Members of the National Guard gathered at Lenox Square Mall after the police department said it would be assisted by about 20 other agencies to monitor activity and “protect vulnerable business districts and retail centers”

Protests turned deadly in some cities

A nation cooped up for weeks over coronavirus restrictions and suffering from resulting job losses saw throngs of people demonstrating in the streets of more than 30 cities on Friday.

People initially gathered peacefully in some places but anger boiled over as the hours passed.

At a protest in Detroit, one person was shot dead.

In Oakland, California, one Federal Protective Service officer was killed and one other injured Friday in a shooting at the downtown federal building during protests in the city, police said. Details about what led to the shooting weren’t immediately available.

“It’s about time this police brutality has to stop. I don’t agree with breaking into all of the businesses, but I can understand the outrage after REPEATED incidents,” Mackenzie Slagle said of protests in Oakland. “Because I’m a white woman, and I needed to show up for all my brothers and sisters.”

In Atlanta, protests turned violent when a crowd set fire to a police car and smashed windows at CNN Center.

“What I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest. This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. This is chaos,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said.

“Killer” was scrawled across a damaged police car in Los Angeles where protesters lined up along a freeway to block traffic. At least two officers were injured during the night, said the LAPD.

But other cities saw a contrast of demonstrators.

In Minneapolis, the epicenter of the demonstrations, some protesters knelt under a bridge and prayed while others tossed rocks at officers who fired rubber bullets in return.

Minneapolis and St. Paul were under a curfew after looting and arson broke out during days of protests. But hundreds took to the streets as police fired tear gas and protesters hid behind cars.

And in Springfield, Massachusetts, hundreds gathered peacefully.

“If you can tell me something better for me to do — if you can tell me a way that we could change the world without trying to make noise like that, then I’ll get out of the streets,” Max Bailey, 22, said at the protests in Denver.

Video shows 3 officers kneeling on George Floyd

Derek Chauvin, the former officer charged in Floyd’s death, is being detained at the Ramsey County Jail in Saint Paul, a spokeswoman with the state’s bureau of criminal apprehension told CNN.

He is facing third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. His bail has been set at $500,000.

Chauvin, who is white, and three other officers detained Floyd, who was black, in handcuffs Monday after he allegedly used a counterfeit bill at a convenience store. Outrage grew after a video surfaced showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck.

Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for a total of 8 minutes, 46 seconds, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday.

All four officers were fired this week after Floyd’s death.

New video posted on social media appears to show three Minneapolis police officers — not just Chauvin — kneeling on Floyd during his arrest. CNN has not been able to locate the person who shot the footage. The new video shows the other side of the Minneapolis police vehicle — the side opposite shown in the first video.

A preliminary autopsy said the combined effects of Floyd being restrained, potential intoxicants in his system and underlying health issues, including heart disease, contributed to his death.

So far, there are physical findings to support strangulation as the cause of death, the medical examiner said but CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta cautioned it doesn’t necessarily mean Floyd didn’t die from asphyxiation.

CNN has reached out to the former officer’s attorney and the Minneapolis police union for comment.