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Protesters took the streets across dozens of cities in the U.S. demanding justice for George Floyd, the unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.
Violent protests erupted over the weekend in a number of cities including Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. More than 40 U.S. cities enacted curfews this weekend, as protests that began late Friday in some cities quickly turned into riots and looting.
Many of the protests drew condemnation from governors and mayors. Some referred to the rioters and looters as agitators, and not peaceful protesters who were grieving, calling for change and demanding justice
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whose state has seen some of the most violent protests so far, was angered by the destruction that unfolded in Minneapolis last week, before it spread to other cities in the U.S.
Walz activated 500 troops from the Minnesota National Guard last week to help quell the violence, and 1,000 more over the past weekend.
"The absolute chaos—this is not grieving, and this is not making a statement [about an injustice] that we fully acknowledge needs to be fixed—this is dangerous," he said, according to UPI. "You need to go home."
Police in Miami arrested at least 57 people over the weekend for looting and other crimes, and according to Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina. Only 13 of those arrested lived in the Miami area.
"Some of those who have been arrested are from Michigan, Georgia, New York and at least three are from Minnesota," he said. "Others won't say where they're from."
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said many of those taking part in violent protests in her city this weekend had come from outside locations, and that these agitators had monitored police radio traffic to know where to stage their protests.
"There clearly was coordination, they were clearly listening to our radio traffic," Lightfoot said. "The number of U-Haul trucks that magically showed up in front of stores, car caravans that dropped people off and broke windows and then were hustling the goods out into the backs of the cars—absolutely, it was organized."
Violent protesters took their frustrations out on the CNN Headquarters in Atlanta, by smashing windows and spraying graffiti on the facade and setting fire to the Centennial Olympic Park's welcome center.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms condemned the rioters. "This is not a protest," she said. "This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. This is chaos. A protest has purpose. When Dr. King was assassinated, we didn't do this to our city. You are disgracing our city. You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country."
Here are some photos from the George Floyd protests:
