The U.S. capital of Washington D.C was awash with anger and pain overnight as tear gas blew along the streets and rubber bullets flew as protesters defied curfew.
The mayhem continued into the early hours of Monday morning.
On Sunday, undaunted protesters clashed with law enforcement for the third straight evening outside the White House.
Numerous businesses were vandalised by the rioters.
Security men guard the White House on Sunday
Flames and smoke rose into the night, and officials and journalists struggled to understand who exactly was responsible for the worst of the damage.
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Protesters gathered throughout Sunday in Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House.
(Watch the video shared by Reuters:
The park has been a focal point of the demonstrations that began Friday evening.
During that first night, protesters breached barricades in front of the White House leading to hours of clashes with the Secret Service.
The protesters were eventually cleared from the park with pepper spray and reinforcements from the U.S. Park Police.
The situation reportedly led security officials to move President Trump into a secure bunker.
On Saturday, the park was fully barricaded by Secret Service, Park Police and National Guard troops.
Barred from the area, the protesters swept through downtown, where they vandalised local businesses by breaking windows, spraying graffiti and lighting fires.
The crowds were back in the park on Sunday evening, which began with relative calm.
A law enforcement contingent that included the Secret Service, Park Police and military police troops stood behind barricades.
They periodically launched tear gas and pepper spray at the demonstrators, some of whom threw objects and fireworks back.
The protests in the U.S. capital are part of a wave of civil unrest that has swept the country since George Floyd died in Minneapolis after being taken into police custody on May 25.
A Minneapolis police officer was filmed pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes while Floyd moaned and pleaded.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired along with the other three officers on the scene, and he has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Trump is expected Monday morning to meet with state governors, law enforcement officials and national security advisers at the White House, over the nationwide unrest.
A White House source told UPI that the meeting is focused on “keeping American communities safe.”
Yahoo News