Over the past week, largely peaceful demonstrations have taken place in more than 75 cities across the US, though some have spiraled into chaos and deadly violence as law enforcement officials use increasingly heavy-handed crowd control tactics.
Police rammed vehicles into protesters in New York City on Saturday, shot and killed a man in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday, carried out unprovoked assaults, shot paint grenades at residents on their own porch, and have frequently deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump endorsed law enforcement's use of force against demonstrators protesting police brutality.
"D.C. had no problems last night," he tweeted. "Many arrests. Great job done by all. Overwhelming force. Domination. Likewise, Minneapolis was great (thank you President Trump!)."
The tweet came a day after police in Washington, DC, used tear gas to clear peaceful protesters from a park so Trump could take a photo in front of a church.
Since protests began on May 26 in Minneapolis, more than 4,000 people have been arrested, according to CNN.
The mass arrests are sending people to prisons even though overcrowding and inadequate safety measures have turned them into hot spots for COVID-19 transmission during the pandemic.
In response, people have been flooding bail funds with donations in an attempt to help protesters stay out of police custody while they await trial.