'Whose streets! Our streets!' Hundreds march on White House
More than 1000 people protesting US President Donald Trump descended on Black Lives Matter Plaza on Tuesday night, just a block from the White House, while hundreds more marched through parts of downtown Washington, sometimes blocking traffic and setting off fireworks.
Scattered protests also took place from Seattle to New York City, but across the US there were no signs of serious violence or widespread unrest in the hours immediately after the polls closed.
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People march on the night of the election in Seattle. AP
Black Lives Matter demonstrators march through the streets near the White House where thousands have gathered to await the 2020 election results. AP
The demonstrations in Washington were largely peaceful, with people shouting, "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "If we don't get no justice, they don't get no peace!"
Groups of teenagers danced in the street as onlookers cheered. Large banners, including one reading "Trump lies all the time," were unfurled.
Police officers arrest a person during the election night march. AP
At one point, the marchers stabbed the tires of a parked police van to flatten them.
There were some arrests made, with footage also showing protesters clashing with each other.
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District of Columbia Metropolitan Police patrol as demonstrators march through the streets near the White House. AP
Hundreds of businesses in cities across the US boarded up their doors and windows ahead of the election, fearing violence.
"Some people would like to cause mayhem and trouble," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said earlier in the day.
People gather in Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House in Washington DC. AP
She said she had never seen so many businesses being boarded up.
"That all saddens me," she said.
Luxury shops on Rodeo Drive are boarded up in anticipation of possible violent protests in Beverly Hills, California. AP
The protests follow months of rising tensions in the US, sparked by the death of Black citizen George Floyd during a police arrest in Minneapolis on May 25.
Waves of protest have swept the country since, re-prompted with unfortunate regularity by the deaths of other people of colour at police hands.
The protests became a flashpoint issue in the Presidential contest.
Incumbent Donald Trump has blamed "Antifa" and the "far left" for the violence, and has taken a law-and-order stance.
Democrat rival Joe Biden has come down on the side of police reform, though he has stood clear of the "defund the police" cries from some protesters.
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With Associated Press.
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