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Angry Black Lives Matter activists continue protests amid violence

Protestors link hands on shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (AFP

Violence rages on in the United States as police forces are dispatched to maintain order at protests, denouncing the recent killings of African Americans by white cops, across the country.

Thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of major cities across the country to decry the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in the hands of US police officers.

The graphic videos of the incidents shot in the US states of Louisiana and Minnesota shocked the American nation this week.

St. Paul

In St. Paul, Minnesota, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where the shootings occurred more than 200 protesters were apprehended.

According to Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul police Chief Todd Axtell called "Saturday night the most violent he's seen in his 28-year career."

St. Paul protesters started at eight pm local time from the governor's mansion and ended up blocking a road. Some of them reportedly threw objects or directed laser pointers at the officers.

Police reportedly used pepper spray to disperse the angry protesters.

Police officers launch smoke bombs and tear gas to clear out protesters who shut down highway I-94 late on July 10, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota.(AP)

According to the official Twitter page of the St. Paul Police Department, “Last night and this morning, 21 officers from multiple agencies were injured on I-94 and other areas of the city.”

Some 100 people were nabbed in St. Paul, 50 at the freeway “for 3rd degree riot” and 50 “for public nuisance and unlawful assembly” elsewhere.

Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge saw a similar night as cops took 101 people into custody, according to police spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks.

Prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson was among those arrested. He was streaming the protest online over Periscope at the time.

"The police have been provocateurs all night," he said in the moments leading up to his arrest. "The protestors have been solid. The protestors haven't hurt anybody. Weren't blocking the street or anything."

Police arrest activist DeRay McKesson during a protest along Airline Highway, a major road that passes in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters late on July 10, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (AP)

The use of excessive force by law enforcement has become the focus of national debate, particularly over high-profile killings of African Americans by mainly white officers during the last several years.

Police in the United States killed over 1,150 people in 2015, with the largest police departments disproportionately killing at least 321 African Americans.


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