Protests of various sizes sprung up across the nation on Friday after the Memphis police released body cam footage of two police altercations with Tyre Nichols, who was beaten by police after being pulled over for alleged reckless driving.
Five of the police officers involved were fired and charged with second-degree murder among other crimes. The video's release was announced on Thursday, leading a host of politicians and other officials to preemptively warn potential protesters to remain peaceful ahead of the video's Friday night release.
Videos of protests from Times Square in New York, Atlanta, Georgia, Memphis, Tennessee, Washington, DC, and other sites have been posted online. It is not known at this time how many protesters are at each event but they appear to vary from a few dozen to hundreds.
However, protests in Memphis appear to be the largest. Protesters there took over Interstate 55, shutting it down to traffic while chanting and giving speeches.
Protesters in Times Square chanted for justice, saying if they don't get it they will "shut it down."
At least one minor clash has occurred between police and protesters in Times Square, where protesters were burning incense. One protester appears to be apprehended by the police in the video.
It is not clear from the video what started the altercation between police and the protesters. In another video, a protester breaks a police cruiser window, but it is unknown if that was related to the other arrest. The protester who broke the window also appears to get apprehended.
Some crowds in Washington, DC, gathered in Lafayette Park and along the Black Lives Matter Plaza in view of the White House. The Black Lives Matter Plaza was given the name in 2020 during a rise in nationwide protests in response to the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and countless others.
One reporter in Atlanta said there were about 40 people attending the protest, which has remained peaceful so far.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on Thursday, activating 1,000 National Guard troops in response to an ongoing protest against the building of an Atlanta law enforcement training facility nicknamed "Cop City." A protester was shot and killed by police on January 18 after police claimed he fired at them and wounded a state trooper.
Livestreams of protests in Memphis are ongoing at press time.