Overnight on 1-2 June 2020, violent protests continued across major U.S. cities in response to the 25 May police killing of an African American man in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Washington D.C., the national capital, police officers clashed with protesters in the Chinatown district, where the officers blockaded streets and arrested approximately 100 demonstrators. Earlier in the evening, Secret Service agents accompanied by National Guard troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at peaceful protesters gathered in Lafayette Park, located adjacent to the While House, shortly before the nighttime citywide curfew went into effect at 1900 local time (2300 UTC) and as President Donald Trump addressed the country regarding the ongoing protests.
In New York City, individuals damaged storefront windows near Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan as the protests occurred in the city. Additionally, a number of luxury stores in the Soho neighborhood were looted, prompting city officials to impose curfew as of 2000 local time; the curfew was initially set to begin at 2300 local time. Meanwhile in the city of Buffalo, a motorist drove a vehicle into a group of police officers and injured two of them.
In Chicago, demonstrators clashed with police officers on Broadway Street shortly after the curfew went into effect at 1900 local time. Protesters vandalized windows of several nearby stores. Police officers arrested at least one person and one protester suffered injuries in the scuffle. Additional confrontations between protesters and police officers occurred in several other major urban centers across the country. Authorities reportedly arrested approximately 1,200 individuals nationwide during the past 24 hours in relation to the ongoing protests.
