Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of US cities for an eighth consecutive night over the death of a black man in police custody, as curfews failed to hold back people expressing anger and grief.
Large marches and rallies took place in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Seattle, invoking the name of George Floyd, and other police victims.
On Monday night, five police officers were hit by gunfire in two cities.
In Washington, D.C., protests were held near the park where demonstrators were cleared out by police on Monday to make a path for President Donald Trump so he could walk from the White House to a nearby church for a photo.
Demonstrators in Los Angeles put their hands behind their head before being taken into custody after breaking curfew. Source: AP
Outside the US Capitol building on Tuesday afternoon a throng took to one knee, chanting "silence is violence" and "no justice, no peace," as officers faced them.
The crowd remained in Lafayette park and elsewhere in the capitol after curfew, despite threats by Mr Trump to use the military to crack down on what he has called lawlessness by "hoodlums" and "thugs."
Dozens of National Guard troops lined up on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial behind black crowd-control barriers.
In New York City, thousands of chanting and cheering protesters ignored an 8 pm curfew to march toward the Brooklyn Bridge as police helicopters whirred overheard.
On Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, hundreds of people filled the street from curb to curb. Others gathered outside Los Angeles Police Department headquarters downtown, in some cases hugging and shaking hands with a line of officers outside.
A demonstrator in Los Angeles holds a sign in front of police officers during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Source: AP
Los Angeles was the scene of violent riots in the spring of 1992, following the acquittal of four policemen charged in the beating of black motorist Rodney King, that saw more than 60 people killed and an estimated $1 billion in damage.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday found a majority of Americans sympathise with the protests.
The survey conducted on Monday and Tuesday found 64 per cent of American adults were "sympathetic to people who are out protesting right now," while 27 per cent said they were not and 9 per cent were unsure.
A supporter holds a photo of George Floyd on the site where the 46-year-old died in police custody. Source: Star Tribune
More than 55 per cent of Americans said they disapproved of Mr Trump's handling of the protests, while just one-third said they approved.
In Minneapolis, Roxie Washington, mother of Mr Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, told a news conference he was a good man. "I want everybody to know that this is what those officers took from me....," she said, sobbing.
"Gianna does not have a father. He will never see her grow up, graduate."
Mr Floyd died after a white policeman pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25.
The officer who knelt on Mr Floyd, 44-year-old Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers involved were fired but not yet charged.
The head of the US National Guard said on Tuesday 18,000 Guard members were assisting local law enforcement in 29 states.
The Pentagon said it has moved about 1,600 US Army troops into the Washington, D.C., region.
George Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis. Source: AAP
Mr Trump's militaristic rhetoric and the growing role of the US armed forces has alarmed some current and former officials.
"America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy," Martin Dempsey, a retired four-star general who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote on Twitter.
Some of those who have gathered at the site of Mr Floyd's killing have invoked the non-violent message of the late US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated in 1968, as the only way forward.
"He would be truly appalled by the violence because he gave his life for this stuff," said Al Clark, 62, a black man who drove to the Minneapolis memorial with one of King's speeches blaring from his truck.
"But I can understand the frustration and anger."
