Courthouse set on fire during protest in California

Protesters in California set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station and assaulted officers after a peaceful demonstration intensified late on Saturday, police in Oakland said.

Demonstrators broke windows, spray-painted graffiti, set off fireworks and pointed lasers at officers, the Oakland department said on Twitter.

We continue to ask the crowd to disperse because of an unlawful assembly. Some in the crowd are throwing projectiles and pointing illegal lasers at officers. We are using signs and giving vocal commands to the crowd if the assaults continue chemicals will be deployed. pic.twitter.com/Un1Ndrs0AQ

— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020

Several tweets called for peace and asked organisers to “help us provide safe spaces and safe places for demonstrators”.

The protest began earlier on Saturday evening with groups such as the Wall Of Moms, similar to a group that formed in Portland, Oregon, as protesters faced off with US agents deployed to that city to guard a federal courthouse.

This video shows a person knocking down the barricades in front of Police Headquarters after officers called for an unlawful assembly and asked the crowd to disperse. pic.twitter.com/08S5b7IDLo

— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020

President Donald Trump had sent the federal agents to clamp down on protests that have occurred nightly since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

The protest in Oakland began peacefully, but turned violent later into the night.

An “unlawful assembly” was declared by police at around 11.30pm local time and officers asked the crowd to disperse.

The fire broke out at the Alameda County Superior Courthouse and was contained a short time later, news outlets reported.

Police said protesters at one point were “breaking windows and chanting racial slurs at residents”.

Photos tweeted by the department showed broken glass and paint splattered at a police building.