Seattle protest: anti-racist and police protesters clash in March

Police in the US city of Seattle clashed with crowds marching in support of protests against racism, in one of the most tense demonstrations across the country on Saturday.

Officers used stun grenades and pepper spray while protesters set fire and smashed windows. The march was in support of the ongoing protests in Portland.

Forty-five people were arrested while 21 officers were injured.

In Austin, Texas, a man was killed during a Black Lives Matter march.

Witnesses told the local Austin Statesman newspaper that a driver turned onto a street where protesters were gathering and began driving into the crowd.

The victim was part of a group that then approached the vehicle. A person inside the car opened fire on the protesters. The victim was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The suspect was arrested and is cooperating with officers, the Austin Police Department said.

In a statement shortly after the shooting, a police spokesperson did not identify the victim, but said they had seen him with a rifle.

The victim’s mother later identified him as Garrett Foster, and told ABC Good Morning America that he was pushing his fiancee’s wheelchair at the time of the shooting.

“They had been participating in these protests [against racism] “Every day for the past 50 days,” Sheila Foster told the program. “She was doing it because she had great confidence in justice and was very much against police brutality, and she wanted to support her fiancée, her fiancee is African.” American.”

Ms. Foster added that “it would not surprise her” if her son had been carrying a gun, since he had a license to carry it and “would have felt the need to protect himself.”

What happened elsewhere in the United States?

In addition to Seattle and Austin, protesters held marches in Louisville, Kentucky; Aurora, Colorado; New York; Omaha, Nebraska; Oakland and Los Angeles in California; and Richmond in Virginia.

The protests received renewed energy from violent clashes in Portland between protesters and federal agents deployed by President Donald Trump despite opposition from local and state leaders.

In Seattle, thousands of protesters had initially gathered peacefully, carrying signs such as “The feds are going home” and “We are living in a police state,” and shouting chants of “No justice, no peace.”

Then a group set fire to the construction site of a juvenile detention center before breaking windows of a nearby courthouse and businesses, police said. Authorities said they threw stones, bottles, fireworks and mortars at officers, and one of them was rushed to the hospital with a leg injury.

Police declared the protests as riots and said they were investigating whether an explosive device was used against a police station. No injuries were reported.

Like Portland, Seattle has seen widespread protests against racism and police brutality since George Floyd’s death in police custody in May. But after a police-free protest zone in the city was dismantled earlier this month after a series of shootings, protests had lessened.

A car passed through a crowd in Aurora, Colorado, but there were no reports of injuries. At the same march, one person was injured after a protester “decided to fire a gun,” police said. The person is in stable condition in the hospital.

Protesters in the city also remembered Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old black man who died last August after being detained by police.

In Louisville, Kentucky, hundreds of members of a black militia demanded justice for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman who was fatally shot when officers entered her apartment in March.

Using semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, the group marched in formation toward a fenced intersection where police separated them from a small crowd of armed counter-protesters. There were no incident reports.

Previously, three members of the black militia were rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a weapon was accidentally unloaded. Police said the incident was under investigation.

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In other developments:

• Police said at least 75 people had been arrested in Omaha, Nebraska, where protesters remembered James Scurlock, a 22-year-old black man shot dead by a white bar owner in May.

• In Richmond, Virginia, a city garbage truck was set on fire, police tweeted

• In Los Angeles, protesters clashed with officers in front of federal court.

What’s going on in Portland?

Trump’s decision to send federal law enforcement officers to protect government buildings in Portland, Oregon, has been deeply controversial. Clashes have recently intensified.

Federal officials in unidentified vehicles appeared to forcibly capture protesters from the streets and detain them without justification. They have also fired tear gas and less deadly ammunition at a crowd of protesters.

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President Donald Trump says he is trying to restore order, but his approach has generated widespread criticism and legal challenges.

Oregon Democratic Governor Kate Brown has demanded his withdrawal, and local officials say this is a ploy of the election year by the president to try to paint his opponents as weak in law and order.

Trump said he would send federal troops to other cities, including Chicago.