US police shootings: Protests spread with dozens of arrests Protesters in Minneapolis call for justice for Philando Castile

US police shootings: Protests spread with dozens of arrests

Protests continue to spread across US cities against the killing of black men by police, following recent deaths in Minnesota and Louisiana.

Roads were blocked and missiles thrown in Minnesota, while armed New Black Panther Party members confronted police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Dozens of arrests have been made but the rallies were mostly peaceful.
The situation is also tense in Dallas, where five officers were killed by a black man during a protest rally.
Security levels were raised at the police HQ after anonymous threats were received but an all clear was given after a search of a car park for a "suspicious person".

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The protests against police killings were sparked by the deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.
In St Paul, Minnesota, overnight, fireworks, bottles and rocks were thrown at police as the demonstration closed a main interstate highway, causing gridlock.

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Fists raised -  Laura Bicker in Baton Rouge

This is the fifth night of protests in Baton Rouge where there is not just anger, there is rage.
Each night the gathering has intensified and police have responded with officers in riot gear. The two sides faced each other, often blocking the main highway outside police headquarters.
Occasionally the force would line up and rush into the crowd to make several arrests.

Image copyright AP

Image caption Key Black Lives Matter figure DeRay Mckesson was arrested in Baton Rouge

Image copyright AP

Image caption

Dozens of people were reported to have been arrested and at least two firearms confiscated. Among those held was DeRay Mckesson, who has become a national voice for the Black Lives Matter movement, and two journalists.
Baton Rouge protester Marie Flowers told Associated Press: "Black boys are being killed and this is just the culmination of what has been going on for decades."
Several hundred protesters blocked roads and bridges in San Francisco and Fresno in California, hundreds more protested peacefully in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami in Florida.
In New York, at least 20 people were arrested as hundreds of protesters marched through Manhattan.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Hundreds marched in Manhattan, New York

Protester Lorena Ambrosio told Reuters: "I'm feeling very haunted, very sad and just angry that black bodies just keep piling and piling up."
A "Weekend of Rage" called in Philadelphia saw a six-hour march by a multi-racial crowd. One protester told an officer: "Without the uniform and badge, you are just like us," AP reported.
Other protests took place in Nashville, Indianapolis and Washington DC.

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New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense