Black Lives Matter protests erupted into violence across the country last night as 'explosive devices' were used against federal officers in Seattle and Portland, and a demonstrator was shot dead during a march in Austin.

One protester was shot and killed when gunshots were fired during a protest in downtown Austin, Texas, Saturday night.

Shocking footage showed people marching along the street holding banners demanding an end to police brutality and racism when loud shots rang out.

This comes as protests gathered steam across several US cities Saturday, two months on from the Memorial Day 'murder' of George Floyd and in a show of solidarity for Portland where demonstrators and federal agents have clashed ever since Trump sent federal troops in.

The president has so far deployed federal agents to Portland, Seattle and Chicago. On Sunday morning he retweeted a series of posts, one which cited Antifa to be a 'racist terror-group', and another, authored by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, who fumed at demonstrators in Portland for assaulting 'FEDERAL officers on FEDERAL property, while the city 'did nothing'.

The streets of Seattle turned violent Saturday when protesters set fire to a youth detention center and a police precinct. Other protesters threw rocks, bottles, fireworks and other explosives at cops, with the unrest leading local authorities to declare protests had turned into 'riots that afternoon'.

Portland geared up for its 59th night of unrest Saturday with swathes of demonstrators marching from the federal building to the Portland Marriott where they believe federal officers are staying, in the wake of a violent night Friday that ended with at least one person stabbed.

Meanwhile, tensions mounted in Chicago, with protests taking place all across the Windy City Saturday including a Back the Blue rally in support of cops, while residents brace for the force of the feds.

Cities that have so far avoided the wrath of the feds also ramped up protests Saturday night with police cruisers being damaged in New York and Los Angeles police issuing a citywide tactical alert to get more cops on standby for escalating unrest.

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