Riots were declared by authorities in the United States cities of Seattle and Portland as months-long demonstrations against racial injustice have continued across the country.
The most recent night of unrest marked two months to the day that George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died in police custody in Minnesotta after a white officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25.
Saturday’s demonstrations included a car driving through a crowd of protesters in Aurora, Colorado, a man fatally shot in Austin, Texas, and a court house set aflame in Oakland, California.
Large group gathered at 11th and Pine. Individuals in crowd throwing rocks and bottles. Officers again working to clear the area.
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) July 26, 2020
In Seattle, authorities declared a riot following large protests in its Capitol Hill neighbourhood, with police deploying flash bangs and pepper spray to try to clear a weeks-olds “occupied protest zone” that stretches for several blocks. Police had previously cleared the area after two fatal shootings there earlier this month.
On Twitter, police said they had made at least 45 arrests and were investigating “possible explosive damage” to the walls of the city’s East Precinct police station.
Earlier on Saturday, protesters in the city broke through a fence where a youth detention facility was being built, with some people setting a fire and damaging a portable trailer, authorities said.
Thousands of protesters had initially gathered peacefully near downtown Seattle in a show of solidarity with fellow demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, where tensions with federal law enforcement have boiled over in recent days.
The Trump administration announced last week that federal agents were being deployed to Seattle, as well as Chicago, Kansas City and Albuquerque, New Mexico.❑
