As a mostly peaceful demonstration occurred in Vancouver, police and transit vehicles set on fire in Seattle

Gov. Jay Inslee activated the National Guard after Seattle's mayor asked for help

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      It was a wild and explosive day and night of protest south of the border, but in Vancouver things remained fairly quiet.

      About 100 people marched through the Downtown Eastside to draw attention to police killings of people of African ancestry, including George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

      In that city, a fired police officer Derek Cauvin faces third-degree murder and manslaughter charges after he was videotaped with his knee on Floyd's neck as three other white cops watched.

      In Vancouver, a car was captured on videotape moving through a crowd of protesters.

      Black Lives Matter Vancouver chose not to participate in the Vancouver demonstration, saying the group couldn't ensure that the community could be kept safe at this time.

      "Furthermore, the family of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, has asked that no protest be held in their daughters name," Black Lives Matter Vancouver stated on its Facebook page. "We will respect that. Right now, our priority and concern is keeping Black people safe and promoting some rest."

      Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old woman, died in Toronto on May 27 after police responded to a 9-1-1 call for help. The Special Investigations Unit is looking into what happened after she fell to the ground from a 24th-floor balcony.

      Black Lives Matter Vancouver also carried a message for white people on its Facebook page:

      "Please research options for dealing with community distress. Community solutions exist, and educate yourself on what they may be. We need you to stop calling the cops for situations that they do not know how to handle. Call out anti-Black racism when you see it. Acknowledge the fruits of Black culture, and stop appropriating it. Don’t ask to use the word N****r. You can’t. Pressure your city government to de-fund police budgets. Support the families of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd and Samwel Uko. Fund organisations like Black Mutual Aid BC, Hogan’s Alley Society and numerous others like ours, working for the Black community."

      Uko was an Abbotsford football player who recently died after visiting a hospital in Regina. He was videotaped in hospital, clearly in distress, declaring that he needed help.

      It also appears as though a Twitter account is falsely claiming to represent Black Lives Matter Vancouver in calling for a protest late this afternoon outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. Black Lives Matter is not urging its members to gather there.

      In the U.S., there are suspicions that white supremacists have tried to spark violence at civil-rights rallies to discredit the demonstrators. 

      Seattle protest turns violent

      Down the I-5 in Seattle, a curfew was imposed at 5 p.m. on Saturday (May 30) and crowds were told to leave the downtown.

      This came after a peaceful demonstration started to rage out of control around 4 p.m.

      Police cars and transit vehicles were torched near Westlake Center in the downtown core, windows were smashed, and stores were looted.

      Mayor Jenny Durkin asked for help from Gov. Jay Inslee, who activated the National Guard.

      Just after midnight, Seattle's police chief, Carmen Best, issued a statement saying that 27 people had been arrested for a range of crimes, including assault and arson. 

      Below, you can see some images being passed around over social media.

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