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Thousands protested across the United States on Sunday against the acquittal of neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman, a day after his trial for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin ended in Florida.
Demonstrators rallied noisily, but peacefully, in cities including New York, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago.
In Los Angeles, police in riot gear were deployed on Hollywood Boulevard but the rally proceeded without incident. About 150 protesters blocked traffic on a freeway elsewhere in the city.
In the pre-dawn hours demonstrators smashed windows and vandalised cars in Oakland, California.
Spontaneous marches were also held in Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta and the Florida state capital, Tallahassee.

Video: Thousands protest in New York
The largest rally was in New York, where several thousand - including families with children - marched to Times Square under the watchful eye of police.
Many in the multiracial crowd brandished signs bearing a portrait of Martin, while some, despite sweltering heat, wore "hoodie" sweatshirts, like the 17-year-old on the night he was killed.
"I am appalled," said hairdresser Carli VanVoorhis, 21. "The man was armed, the kid was not, and the man with the gun got away. If we say it was not a racial issue, we would be lying."
Chants included "The people say guilty" and "No justice, no peace". Signs included "Jail racist killers, not black youth", and "We are all Trayvon. The whole damn system is guilty". A marcher wore a T-shirt proclaiming: "I'm black. Please don't shoot."
"We have a big problem with race, and another problem is guns," said protester Rodney Rodriguez. "If Zimmerman didn't have a gun, he couldn't have killed Trayvon Martin."
Derreck Wilson said the group had come "to say in a peaceful way why we are angry. We are angry, scared and anxious. It's cathartic. We all have the same desires. I want to be able to have my son to come home," said Wilson, who came to the protest from the traditionally African-American neighbourhood of Harlem.
Rhada Blank also came from Harlem. "I was sick to my stomach when I heard the verdict, I felt ashamed," she said. "I don't feel good about being American today. We have a lot of work to do."


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Trayvon Martin

Thousands march across US against not guilty verdict for Zimmerman

Police confront demonstrators trying to block traffic on a freeway in Los Angeles on Sunday in protest against the verdict. Photo: Reuters

Civil rights case urged after acquittal over Trayvon Martin killing

Thousands of protesters in Times Square, New York, call for federal authorities to pursue a civil rights action against George Zimmerman after his acquittal over the killing of Trayvon Martin. Photo: Reuters

Zimmerman keen to go to law school to help those wrongly accused

George Zimmerman smiles after hearing the verdict. Photo: AP

Obama calls for calm after Zimmerman acquittal as protests held

People protest against the verdict at a gathering in downtown Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Tatum Stoball, 5, of Madison, Wisconsin, holds up a sign during a protest. Photo: AP

People hold hands in a circle at a rally honoring Trayvon Martin at Union Square in Manhattan on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Demonstrators protest the George Zimmerman verdict in front of the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida, on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Not guilty verdict sets Zimmerman free but divides community

Defendant George Zimmerman listens impassively as the not-guilty verdict is delivered. Photo: Reuters

George Zimmerman (right) is congratulated by his defense team after being found not guilty by a Florida court in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Photo: Reuter

Demonstrators react emotionally to the verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida. Photo: EPA

A member of the New Black Panther Party leads a chant of 'murder not manslaughter' as demonstrators gather for a verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida. Photo: EPA

Tonnetta Foster weeps outside the courthouse after the verdict is delivered. Photo: AFP

Protesters outside the courthouse. Photo: Reuters

Protesters in Los Angeles. Photo: Reuters

Protesters blocking an Expo Line train in Los Angeles. Photo: Reuters

Conrad Murray

Phil Spector

News

World

Thousands protested across the United States on Sunday against the acquittal of neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman, a day after his trial for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin ended in Florida.
