Violent clashes erupted in Minneapolis, Chicago, and across the nation after peaceful anti-police protests descended into chaos on Friday night.
Most of the protests around the country started peacefully on Friday night.
As time went on, however, many of the protests began to turn violent, with clashes between protests and the police becoming more frequent.
In some cities, police used pepper spray on the protesters in an attempt to break them up.
In other cities, police arrested some of the protesters.
The clashes between police and protesters marred what appeared to be a peaceful day and early evening of protests.
Police bull rushed, kettled and attacked protesters at Brooklyn Center on Friday night
Law enforcement officers pepper spray protestors and working media outside the Brooklyn Center police station
Law enforcement officers pepper spray protestors and working media outside the Brooklyn Center police station Friday
An unlawful assembly was declared at the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday night
People protest the March 29th shooting and killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo by near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home
Chicago Police officers mask up and prepare near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home as people protest on Friday
Chicago Police officers stand near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home as protesters march through Logan Square Friday
Chicago
In Chicago, thousands of people marched for Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old who was killed by the police last month, before video was released on Thursday showing the shooting, sparking outrage.
The protests began before 6pm, with hundreds of people gathering in Logan Square Park, planning on marching to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s residence.
The number of protesters swelled into the thousands as the night went on, with the intersection of Milwaukee, Diversey and Kimball shut down around 7:30pm, according to ABC7.
Hundreds took to the streets on Thursday night after the video was first released, blocking traffic in the West Loop and protesting outside of the city’s police headquarters.
People in the city anticipated the protests ahead of the video’s release, boarding up windows and stores to prevent looting.
There were no reports of violence during Friday night’s protests earlier, but isolated clashes did break out with police later in the night.
Demonstrators protest the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on Friday in Logan Park, Chicago
A protester holds a placard accusing the Chicago Police Department of murdering children following Adam Toledo’s death
People in Chicago take part in a demonstration a day after officials released a video showing Adam Toledo’s death
People protest the killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home on Friday
People continue to protest the killing of 13 year-old Adam Toledo near Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home on Friday
Protesters march through the Logan Square neighborhood during a rally on Friday in Chicago
Brooklyn Center
Brooklyn Center, the site of the death of Daunte Wright, 20, last Sunday entered its sixth day of protests on Friday, with things quickly descending into chaos.
The police headquarters in the city remains fenced off, but that didn’t prevent almost 1,000 people from gathering there by 9pm, according to the Star Tribune.
The protests began peacefully in the afternoon, with people barbecuing, giving away food, and writing messages with chalk on the sidewalks.
Things grew more tense as the sun went down, however, with one speaker saying, ‘We’re going to make their lives miserable every night,’ a message directed at law enforcement.
Protesters were demanding greater charges for Kimberly Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot Wright last week.
She was charged this week with second-degree manslaughter, which protesters and members of Wright’s family believe is not enough.
An unlawful assembly was declared at the Brooklyn Center Police Department Friday night as protests continued
Police lead away a protester during Friday night’s clashes at the Brooklyn Center Police Department
An unlawful assembly was declared at the Brooklyn Center Police Department Friday night where many gathered
A protester getting treated after having been hit with both pepper spray and a rubber bullet at the Brooklyn Center
Pictured: Protesters behind a security fence in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday
A protester getting hit with both pepper spray and a rubber bullet at the Brooklyn Center Police Department
Protesters gathered together on Friday night in Brooklyn Center, holding up their phones as lights
Over the course of the night, clashes between the police and protesters grew, even as police stood behind fences
Many protesters carried umbrellas with them to shield themselves from pepper spray from the police
There was a brief incident when Black protesters attempted to prevent white protesters from shaking fences and climbing barricades.
Just before 10pm, however, the protest outside of the police department was declared an unlawful assembly, according to KSTP.
Police began deploying flash bangs to scatter the crowd, some of whom shielded themselves with umbrellas.
Within ten minutes, the Minnesota State Patrol arrived and stated to form a blockade. State troopers then began making arrests using zipties.
Pepper spray was used against some protesters, with members of the media also being affected by the pepper spray.
The city then issued a curfew from 11pm to 6am Saturday, despite earlier indications that there would be no curfew on Friday night.
Law enforcement patrol an intersection near the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Friday night
Law enforcement stand guard in an intersection near the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Friday night
Guardsmen line up near the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday night
A demonstrator is pepper-sprayed outside of the Brooklyn Center police headquarters on Friday
People take cover from pepper spray being used by law enforcement from behind a fence at Brooklyn Center PD Friday
A demonstrator is attended to after getting pepper-sprayed by police officers during a protest outside in Brooklyn Center
Demonstrators clash with police outside the Brooklyn Center police station on April 16, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Earlier on Friday, the Minneapolis City Council voted 11-1 against the use of tear gas and other munitions amid the protests.
In Brooklyn Center, cops have used gas and nonlethal munitions against protesters at the police station, according to FOX 9.
While the resolution passed almost unanimously, it doesn’t have any legal effect because the Minneapolis Police is controlled by Mayor Jacob Frey, not the Minneapolis Council.
Minnesota is also preparing for more protests in the coming days with Derek Chauvin’s trial in the death of George Floyd winding to an end – closing arguments are set to take place on Monday.
A peaceful crowd gathered at the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Friday afternoon
Protesters in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department hold up flags and signs on Friday afternoon
New York City
Meanwhile, protests continued around the rest of the nation on Friday night, with major cities such as New York City, Atlanta, and Washington DC seeing various protests throughout the day.
In New York City, some protesters held up signs saying the names of victims, such as Daunte Wright.
There was also a memorial in Washington Square Park for Wright and Dominique Lucious, a black transgender woman recently murdered in Missouri.
As the night went on in New York, there were clashes between Black Lives Matters protesters and the police in Brooklyn near the Barclays Center, where hundreds of people had gathered.
Some people were also arrested, although it’s not clear what sparked the clash.
Police officers take a protester into custody as hundreds of BLM protesters are gathered at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Hundreds of BLM protesters are gathered at the Barclays Center and took to the streets on Friday night
A woman carries a sign that reads ‘Daunte Wright’ as demonstrators protest against police in New York City
People look at a memorial in Washington Square Park for Daunte Wright and for Dominique Lucious in New York City
In Atlanta, Black Lives Matters protesters marched peacefully through downtown.
Some held signs, including one with the anti-police slogan ‘ACAB.’
Washington DC saw similar protests on Friday, with people holding signs and marching through the Black Lives Matter Plaza.
As the night went on, more and more people in the city joined in with the protests, which marched down busy streets.
According to the Washington Post, around 175 people rallied at the Black Lives Matter Plaza.
A crowd then walked down U Street, getting into a clash with police after trying to confront diners outside around 10pm.
Police were also forced to push protesters away from a police station, leading the protesters to shine laser pointers at the cops, as well as nearby diners.
At one point, protesters threw fireworks at police officers, with one even throwing a scooter, before the crowd dispersed around 11:20pm.
Demonstrators march in Washington, D.C. to protest the death of Daunte Wright on Friday night
Diners film demonstrators marching down U Street in Washington, D.C. to protest the death of Daunte Wright on Friday
Demonstrators march in Washington, D.C. to protest the death of Daunte Wright on Friday night
Black Lives Matter protesters march in downtown Atlanta, Georgia on Friday afternoon
In Atlanta, many protesters carried signs, including one saying ‘Enough is Enough’ about the rash of police shootings