More than 50 Secret Service agents are injured in clashes outside the White House: Rioters throw Molotov cocktails in DC while looters trash Gucci and Chanel stores in NYC on a sixth night of violence in cities across the US
Chaos has continued to unfold in cities across America with more than 50 Secret Service agents injured in clashes with protesters in Washington DC, police charging into demonstrators in New York City and lootings continuing to unfold in major cities like California, Philadelphia and Boston.
Demonstrations from Washington DC to Los Angeles swelled from peaceful protests - sparked by the death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody last Monday - into scenes of violence that drew National Guard troops in at least 15 states and Washington.
More than 4,100 people were arrested this weekend alone as the violence continued to escalate and cities enacted strict curfews.
The threat of heavy officer presence didn't deter protesters from lighting fires just mere feet from the White House, crowds raiding high-end stores in New York and San Francisco or hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at police in Philadelphia.
Police fired tear gas outside the White House late Sunday as fires were set in the historic St. John's Episcopal Church and Lafayette Park in front of the White House.
In some cities, thieves smashed their way into stores and ran off with as much as they could carry, leaving shop owners, many of them just ramping up their business again after coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, to clean up their shattered storefronts.
Protests have unfolded in at least 145 cities across the country over the past week as people gather in outrage over the horrifying death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed while in the custody of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Memorial Day.
The demonstrations have marked unparalleled civil unrest in the US that hasn't been seen since the 1968 assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Donald Trump spent Sunday berating his enemies on Twitter and demanding 'law and order' in Democratic-run cities but did not appear in public and opted against making a televised address to calm tensions. It has since emerged that Trump was rushed by Secret Service agents to a White House bunker on Friday night as hundreds of protesters gathered outside.
WASHINGTON DC: Chaos continued to unfold in cities across America late Sunday night including Washington DC, just steps from the White House, where police and Secret Service deployed tear gas as they faced off with protesters during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd
WASHINGTON DC: Police stand guard outside the White House late Sunday as chaotic demonstrations took place in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON DC: Protesters jump on a street sign near a burning barricade near the White House late on Sunday. Fires were set in the historic St. John's Episcopal Church and Lafayette Park in front of the White House
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A protester is pinned down by a police officer as cops in riot gear including shields and helmets clash with protesters on Sunday night
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Smoke and debris at a looted hardware store in Philadelphia last night after it was targeted by looters during the George Floyd riots
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: An armed vigilante attempts to stop a bank robbery in Santa Monica during the widespread riots yesterday, as protesters turned on looters in some places
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: People flee for their lives as a tanker truck drives towards thousands of protesters on a highway yesterday. The truck did not appear to have struck anyone
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Protests continued to rage fury in Boston on Sunday evening where a police car was set ablaze
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: A woman is bundled into a vehicle by police officers as protests in downtown Charlotte turned violent on Sunday night
NEW YORK CITY: A hooded man tries to smash a window in New York where protests continued following George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police a week ago
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA: Protester Kendrick Cutkelvin of Savannah uses a SWAT vehicle loudspeaker to disperse a small crowd of protesters after a peaceful protest in Georgia last night
At least 40 cities have imposed curfews in light of the riots and violence and National Guard members have been activated in 15 states and Washington, DC.
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Monday that some of the protesters that terrorized the city overnight had come prepared with tools and supplies. She said they set fires to try and draw police away.
'We recognize that people are frustrated and mad but tearing up our beautiful city is not the way to bring attention to what is a righteous cause,' Bowser told NBC's Today.
She said the city was 'prepared for multiple days of demonstration' and officials were working with intelligence to determine who was coming.
Meanwhile on the other side of the country, Washington state governor Jay Inslee was among those to send for the National Guard after vandalism and looting in multiple cities, calling the riots 'illegal and dangerous' but adding they should not 'detract from the anger so many feel at the deep injustice laid so ugly and bare by the death of George Floyd'.
At least five people have been killed in protest violence after gunfire rang out in Detroit and Indianapolis and in Omaha a 22-year-old black protester was killed in a struggle with a local business owner.
A man was shot dead by law enforcement officers in Louisville on Sunday on the fourth night of unrest in the city in a shooting believed to be linked to the protests.
At least one shot was fired by someone in a large crowd which had gathered in the city, WLKY reported.
Louisville's protests have also focused on the March 13 death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot eight times by narcotics detectives who knocked down her front door.
Two Atlanta police officers were fired Sunday after video emerged showing them using excessive force during protests this weekend, including tasing and dragging two college students from a car.
Police and Secret Service pictured standing guard in front of the White House as protesters edge closer on Sunday
Demonstrators pictured flipping a car over and smashing its class windows during a protest near the White House on Sunday
A protester raises their first near a fire outside the White House as protests engulfed the country for another night
The historic St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington DC was set ablaze in protests on Sunday. Police form a line in front of the church late Sunday
Protesters set an American flag on fire at Lafayette Park in front of the White House as they rallied against police brutality on Sunday evening
Over 1,000 protesters gathered around a fire ignited near the White House on Sunday evening
In Washington DC, fury erupted even as the hour of an 11pm curfew neared and as police fired tear gas and pepper spray amid blazes in the capital.
On Sunday alone more than 50 Secret Service officers were injured so far, a senior official said to Fox News, after rioters threw bottles and Molotov cocktails at them.
People were seen throwing branches and fireworks into the fires as police advanced forward in a line in a bid to push back the crowds to send people home.
Before the blaze at St John's Episcopal Church broke out, church officials said they were thankful that the church wasn't hit by protests the day before. The fire was set shortly after 11pm.
'We are fortunate that the damage to the buildings is limited,' Rev. Rob Fischer, the rector of the church, said earlier on Sunday. He said that that same morning church officials had secured its valuables.
A fire was also set in Lafayette Park, located just in front of the White House, where a protester set a US flag on fire sending smoke into the air as more than 1,000 gathered and raised their fists in solidarity.
The White House plunged into darkness last night as the executive mansion's lights were turned off in an unusual move.
Donald Trump had returned to a White House under virtual siege after traveling to Florida for the Cape Canaveral space launch on Saturday, and did not appear in public on Sunday.
While Trump remained out of sight, his advisers discussed the prospect of an Oval Office address in an attempt to ease tensions.
But the notion was quickly scrapped for lack of policy proposals and the president's own seeming disinterest in delivering a message of unity.
Police armed with plastic shields, bulletproof vests, and weapons pictured at Lafayette Park as demonstrators gathered for the sixth night on Sunday evening
Demonstrators prepare to burn a US flag at a protest near the White House on another night of protests across the country
Police officers charge forward during a protest outside the White House on Sunday
After 11pm, curfew in Washington DC, the White House shut off its exterior lights and went dark on Sunday nights as protesters still rioted outside
A man raises his fist in front of the White House as smoke envelopes the capital's front lawn on Sunday
Outside of the White House, protesters stand feet away from a police line chanting, “George Floyd. Say his name.”
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On Sunday protests decrying the police killing of black Minneapolis man George Floyd continued. Using a fire extinguisher and their bodies, a group of protesters in New York stopped looters from entering a closed business
Peaceful protesters pictured making a chain with their arms to block looters from entering this closed Tory Burch store on Sunday evening amid growing civil unrest
Pictured left: A New York police officer embraces a protester after kneeling together with them in Queens yesterday; right: a protester raises their fist near a burning fire in Washington
Protesters pictured taking a knee and raising their hands in the middle of Canal Street amid a stand off with police over the death of George Floyd at a rally Sunday evening
New York City police officers block Canal Street as protesters demonstrate. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after five consecutive nights of protests over racism and police brutality that boiled over into arson and looting
A man in a Spiderman costume raises his fist in solidarity with protesters with the Freedom Tower shining in the back during protests in Brooklyn Sunday evening
Stronger together: Activists pictured arm in arm as they march to the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday
People protest in Manhattan, New York, lighting fires and creating barricades on another night of nationwide protests
A man carrying a skateboard vaults over a burning barricade in New York on another day of angry protests over Floyd's death
Horrifying video footage has emerged of New York Police Department officers clashing with protesters on Sunday night, chasing them and flinging them to the ground on the sixth night of demonstrations denouncing the police killing of black man George Floyd
In Manhattan a line of cops armed with plastic shields and batons were seen storming into a crowd of protesters on Sunday evening amid growing agitation.
A circle of eight cops was seen gathering around one protester, flinging him to the ground and arresting him. Nearby also in Manhattan a car was sent up in flames Sunday evening, leaving demonstrators scrambling.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's daughter Chiara de Blasio was arrested Saturday night alongside protesters in Greenwich Village for unlawful assembly and was later released, police said.
De Blasio had earlier rejected the idea of a curfew, like those adopted in other major U.S. cities.
The Democrat credited police for 'tremendous restraint,' but appointed two city officials to review incidents caught on video, including an officer ripping a man's mask off to spray his face with a chemical and two police cruisers lurching into a crowd of demonstrators in Brooklyn.
'We all better get back to the humanity here,' de Blasio said. 'The protesters are human beings. They need to be treated with tremendous respect. The police officers are human beings. They need to be treated with tremendous respect.'
On Sunday stores across all boroughs were ransacked, including a Chanel in Soho and a Coach store in Midtown.
Around a dozen people were seen forcing entry into the Chanel located on Spring and Wooster after 11pm. One man was spotted leaving with four bags, as per the New York Post.
Two men fleeing the store were arrested down the block by cops who arrived two minutes after the break in.
The protests continued in Soho in the early hours of Monday, where mobs of people rampaged down the sidewalks, smashing into numerous luxury shops to steal merchandise.
Hundreds of people marauded through the area, breaking into Rolex, Chanel and Prada boutiques as well as clothing and electronics stores.
One person was shot amid the chaos and was being treated in an ambulance.
Since the protests began days ago, at least 790 people have been arrested, 33 officers have been injured and 27 police vehicles have been damaged or destroyed, the NYPD said. There were no major injuries reported.
Elsewhere in New York, hundreds of people helped clean up Sunday after shop windows were shattered and vehicles torched in Rochester and Albany and Buffalo.
Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo said the National Guard is on standby and that hundreds of additional troopers were made available to upstate cities.
In Schenectady on Sunday, police marched with protesters, with some officers holding signs saying 'Black lives matter. Period!' Police Chief Eric Clifford and other officers knelt with protesters.
Later, the mayor declared a state of emergency with a 7pm curfew, citing likely civil unrest.
The New York Civil Liberties Union criticized curfews.
'It isn't the protesters who need curfews, it's the police. There is no excusing the police terror we have seen this weekend against protesters,' said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.
Looters in New York pictured leaving a broken into store in Manhattan after ransacking its merchandise Sunday
Looters pictured running out of a vandalized Coach store in Manhattan on Sunday
Designer destroyed: This New York Dolce and Gabbana store was completely raided and cleared of its shelves Sunday
Looters in New York pictured running away from a vandalized store on Sunday evening
A line of police officers holding batons and wearing helmets - some of them also wearing masks - confront protesters in New York in the latest round of protests last night
A protester runs on top of a line of cars in New York on Sunday evening as protests continued around the country
Protesters pictured breaking their into a Gucci store in Soho, Manhattan Sunday evening
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the heart of protests in the country, law enforcement officials said they believe white supremacists have infiltrated demonstrations in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said Sunday night.
'They're agitators,' he said to CNN, saying there have been reports of Antifa members attending demonstrations. Antifa is short for anti-fascists and are people whose political beliefs lean to the far left and are not in line with the Democratic Party.
Such complaints are sweeping the nation as a divide emerges among peaceful protesters, rioters, and looters.
On Sunday evening a man later identified as Bogdan Vechirko drove a tanker truck into a crowd of protesters on the Minnesota I-35W bridge on Sunday night and was later charged with assault.
No protesters were hurt but his actions were described as 'inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators'.
Another closely watched protest was outside the state capitol in Minneapolis' twin city of St. Paul, where several thousand people gathered before marching down a highway.
'We have black sons, black brothers, black friends, we don't want them to die. We are tired of this happening, this generation is not having it, we are tired of oppression,' said Muna Abdi, a 31-year-old black woman who joined the protest.
Minneapolis police later reported they had discovered caches of homemade firebombs around the two cities.
Boston police pictured armed with batons and protective gear as a police cruiser burns behind them Sunday night
A man tries to light a cigarette from the flames engulfing a Boston Police cruiser during clashes in Massachusetts last nihgt
Looters pictured ransacking a jewelry store during demonstrations on Boston on Sunday evening
Boston Police in riot gear stand in front of a burning police cruiser during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd
Cops pictured lined up protecting a Walgreens in Boston amid threats of riots and store raids
A protester pictured clashing with Boston and Massachusetts State Police on Sunday during demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd
Protesters pictured assisting a man who was hit with pepper spray during clashes with police at Boston protests on Sunday
Philadelphia: Officials closed off much of the city after peaceful day protests turned into utter destruction by night fall on Sunday. People pictured running away from a GameStop during civil unrest
Chicago: The DuSable Bridge is raised in an effort to stop access to downtown Chicago after looting and destruction of property in the city center
The windows of a Chase Bank are seen shattered in downtown Chicago on Sunday
In Los Angeles the county sheriff said people were out on the streets 'acting like terrorists' following a day that saw peaceful protests alongside widespread looting and store raids.
'The peaceful [protesters]... tend to remain peaceful but what's embedded within them are people that are right now, they're just acting like terrorists, trying to instill fear, damage property and loot,' Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said to press Sunday.
'There's no lawful protesters left anymore. Everybody who's here is just trying to do damage,' he added.
Officials in LA - a city scarred by the 1992 riots over the police beating of Rodney King, an African-American man - imposed a curfew from 4pm Sunday until dawn, and the National Guard was called up for the first time since then.
In Long Beach, police chief Robert Luna called the violence 'heartbreaking' after admitting his force had been overwhelmed by the number of protesters.
'We planned for a large group of protesters to express their anger in a positive way. We knew we were going to get agitators but we didn't expect this number,' he said.
Addressing the looters, he said: 'We're going to come after you and we're going to put you in jail.'
In Philadelphia officials closed off much of the city after peaceful day protests turned into utter destruction by night fall.
Store windows saw their glass windows smashed near City Hall and their shelves raided with merchandise spilling out into the streets.
Philadelphia: A man is arrested by police with debris strewn across the street during protests on Sunday
Looters pictured leaving a hardware store with lamps and merchandise in their hands after the store was raided in Sunday protests
Police pictured arresting a man who was caught looting a hardware store during George Floyd protests on Sunday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Utter destruction: Stores were left completely destroyed in the store raised with racks swept clean, unwanted clothes thrown on the ground, and shelves empty of merchandise
Barely anything left: Shelves at this hardware store were practically cleared out and unwanted boxes and goods left on the ground in disarray in Philadelphia on Sunday
In Chicago, vandals smashed windows at a shoe store in the heavily-Mexican Little Village neighborhood and crowds broke into a Family Dollar store at a South Side strip mall.
By midday Sunday, six people had been shot, one fatally, 240 people were arrested and about 20 police officers injured in connection with the demonstrations, Chicago police said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who ordered an indefinite nightly 9pm curfew, said the Illinois National Guard had been requested to help keep order.
She said access to the central business district would be restricted to only essential workers and people who live there. Public transportation was temporarily suspended, major streets blocked with sanitation trucks and Chicago River drawbridges allowing traffic into downtown remained lifted.
'Seeing the murder of George Floyd sickened me and it still does,' Lightfoot said at a news conference, taking several breaks to compose herself.
'But rather than respond to his death as we should and focus our energy toward doing the hard work to create the change that we need, we have instead been forced to turn our focus and energy toward preventing wanton violence and destruction'
Police Superintendent David Brown said officers were working 12-hour shifts to respond. When asked by reporters about what appeared to be a lack of police intervention as some businesses were destroyed, he said the public shouldn't 'switch the blame to the cops' and commended officers' professionalism.
George Floyd died on May 25 after he was arrested by four Minneapolis police officers for allegedly using a fake $20 bill. He was brought to the ground and white cop Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes, despite Floyd's desperate repeated pleas for help saying, 'I can't breathe'.
The horrific assault was caught on video and sent shockwaves across the nation.
In total Chauvin had his knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds; two minutes and 53 seconds of which occurred after Floyd became unresponsive.
After civil unrest and protests, Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and he along with the three other officers who arrested Floyd have been fired from the force following outrage over Floyd's death.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's officers patrol Sunday in Santa Monica, California after peaceful protests turned into mass lootings
Protesters pictured being detained by officers during a rally against the death of George Floyd late Sunday
Police pictured wearing protective gear as they arrest protesters at a rally in Minneapolis on Sunday
A view of the damaged lobby of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations headquarters in Washington pictured Sunday following protests
A man smashes the window of a restaurant amid nationwide unrest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Washington state on Sunday
A man with a hammer attacks another man as a result of a disagreement about vandalism during demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in New York on Sunday
A line of police officers pictured at an intersection in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday evening
Police pictured facing off with protesters at a rally in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday
A woman protests in front of a line of Las Vegas Police officers on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday
Protesters pictured ransacking a 7-Eleven store in New York late Sunday
More than 50 Secret Service agents are injured in clashes outside the White House: Rioters throw Molotov cocktails in DC while looters trash Gucci and Chanel stores in NYC on a sixth night of violence in cities across the US
![More than 50 Secret Service agents are injured in clashes outside the White House: Rioters throw Molotov cocktails in DC while looters trash Gucci and Chanel stores in NYC on a sixth night of violence in cities across the US]()
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