Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Seattle on Saturday in the largest Black Lives Matter protest in recent weeks after violence erupted between demonstrators and federal police agents in the nearby city of Portland, Oregon.

Officers in Seattle used non-lethal weapons to try to disperse crowds after some protesters set fire to the construction site of a local juvenile detention center and courthouse.

Police said they had arrested 45 people and that 21 officers sustained injuries — including one who was hospitalized after being wounded by an explosive.

The protest took place amid mounting unrest in cities around the US, where demonstrators have rallied against racial injustice and police brutality. 

Teargas in Portland

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he had expanded the presence of federal police in Seattle, sparking outrage among protesters and local officials.

Earlier on Saturday, local and federal police in Portland fired tear gas to forcefully disperse protesters. For nearly two months, the city has experienced nightly protests against racism and police brutality.

Trump has deployed security forces to major US cities in a "surge" intended to curb rising violence.

Critics have accused officers of escalating tensions with abusive and unconstitutional policing tactics.

Car drives through crowd in Denver

A car drove through a crowd and at least one demonstrator was shot at a protest against racial injustice taking place in Denver, Colorado on Saturday.

A protester fired a weapon as the car drove through the crowd, striking at least one person, who was taken to the hospital in stable condition, the Aurora Police Department confirmed on Twitter.

Protesters also broke windows of the local courthouse and started a fire in one office, police said. Authorities then ordered people to leave the area.

In Austin, Texas, one person was killed when several shots were fired amid a protest downtown.

Footage posted during a Facebook Live showed the moment when several shots rang out as a group of about 100 people marched and chanted "fists up! Fight back!" 

Police said a man had approached a car before being gunned down by the vehicle's driver. Spokeswoman Katrina Ratliff told reporters the "victim may have been carrying a rifle" when he was fatally shot. She added that a suspect was in custody and cooperating with police.

Three shot at armed protest in Louisville

In Louisville, Kentucky, a group of heavily armed Black protesters marched through the city on Saturday to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed by police in March when officers mistakenly entered her Louisville apartment. None of the officers involved have been charged with a crime.

The armed protest march terminated at a fenced-off intersection, where police separated the group from a smaller group of armed counter-protesters.

Three demonstrators were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after a weapon was discharged accidentally.

Taylor's death returned to national prominence after the death of George Floyd on May 25 at the hand of Minneapolis police ignited the Black Lives Matter movement.

nm,kp/mm(AFP, AP, Reuters)