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Protests against police brutality and racial injustice have escalated across several major US cities, with one person dead, three people injured and more than 20 arrested in a weekend of unrest.
Three people were injured in a shooting during a protest in Louisville, Kentucky, and another was fatally shot during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas. In Seattle, Washington, more than two dozen demonstrators have been arrested.
Ongoing protests in Portland, Oregon have resulted in local authorities declaring a state of riot, with demonstrators breaking through a court fence and throwing aerial fireworks at officers. Federal agents fired tear gas canisters at the demonstrators early on Saturday (local time), marking the 58th straight day of protests in the city.
The deployment of federal border patrol officers, against the wishes of local officials, has stoked the flames of public anger in Portland - a city that has been actively involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. Many demonstrators and local officials view the deployment of the agents as a ploy by President Trump to drum up a "law and order" campaign, as he faces an uphill re-election battle.
Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, has called the intervention an abuse of federal power and blamed it for the escalating violence. Demonstrators have claimed the officers are using excessive force, complaining of overreach by the Trump administration.
In the Kentucky city of Louisville on Saturday (local time), an all-black militia group held an armed rally in support of Breonna Taylor, a black emergency medical technician who was killed in her Louisville home by officers in March.
Clad in black paramilitary gear and armed with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles, members of the group - known as NFAC - walked in formation to a fenced-off intersection, where they were separated by authorities from a small group of armed counter-protesters.
Taylor, 26, was fatally shot by officers who entered her property under a "no-knock" warrant during a drug investigation raid. Although one of the involved officers has been fired by the city's police department and two others have been placed on administrative reassignment, no criminal charges have been filed - leading to ongoing protests calling for justice.
In Louisville on Saturday (local time), three members of the NFAC armed militia were hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries after a weapon was accidentally discharged.
Another was killed when several shots were fired during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Austin, Texas. Footage shared during a Facebook Live captured the moment the shots rang out in the Texas capital, as roughly 100 people marched and chanted.
Initial reports indicate the suspect was carrying a rifle and shot at the victim, who was in his car, local police said at a media briefing. The suspect has been detained.
On Twitter, the Austin Police Department and emergency medical services confirmed there were no other deaths or injuries during the shooting.
In Seattle, more than two dozen demonstrators were arrested and a number of officers were injured at a violent Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday.
Police said officers used non-lethal weapons in attempts to disperse the thousands of marchers, after the construction site for a King County juvenile detention facility and local courthouse were set ablaze by protesters.
By 10pm, police had "made 45 arrests in connection with [Saturday's] riot in the East Precinct", the Seattle Police Department confirmed on Twitter. According to the tweet, 21 officers sustained injuries after being struck by bricks, rocks, mortars and other explosives.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said he had expanded the deployment of federal police to Seattle, enraging local officials and igniting anger among protesters.
US Attorney for the Western District of Washington Brian Moran said in a statement on Friday that federal agents are stationed in Seattle to protect federal properties and the work done in those buildings.
The Trump administration has also sent federal police to Chicago, Kansas City and Albuquerque, New Mexico, over the objections of the city's respective mayors.
Demonstrations also took a violent turn in Oakland, California. A peaceful protest campaigning for police reform and racial justice escalated on Saturday night when "agitators" set fire to the Alameda County Superior Courthouse, vandalised a local police station and aimed fireworks and lasers at officers.
According to the Oakland Police Department, roughly 700 people participated in the initially peaceful demonstration prior to the acts of vandalism and arson. After several social media pleas for the crowds to disperse due to "an unlawful assembly", a number of people were arrested.
"We are asking agitators to stop throwing items and pointing lasers at the officers at 7th & Broadway," the department tweeted.
"Some within the crowd of 100s of demonstrators vandalised the police station. Breaking windows, spray painting, shooting fireworks and pointing lasers at officers and helicopters. We ask for organizers to keep the protest peaceful."
The March killing of Breonna Taylor regained prominence following the high-profile killing of African-American man George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the alleged murder catapulting similar instances of police brutality to the forefront in a wave of public outrage. Floyd died after Caucasian officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest on suspicion of forgery.
The deaths of Taylor and Floyd have become rallying cries throughout the nationwide protests against the US criminal justice system.
Reuters / Newshub.
