National Guard Appears to Use Paint Cartridges Against People in Minneapolis - Video

Earlier this week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called up the National Guard, a militia force that exists in each American state, to help deal with civil unrest. This is the first time in 12 years that the Guard has been deployed in the state.

Minnesota National Guard units on Saturday evening began clearing the streets of Minneapolis, using paint cartridges against protesters.

One video published on Twitter shows police firing what appears to be cartridges filled with paint in order to drive residents back into their own homes. The incident reportedly occurred in the city's Whittier neighbourhood.

Share widely: National guard and MPD sweeping our residential street. Shooting paint canisters at us on our own front porch. Yelling “light em up” #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #JusticeForGeorge #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/bW48imyt55

— Tanya Kerssen (@tkerssen) May 31, 2020

​Protests over the death of 46-year-old black man George Floyd that first began in Minneapolis have now gone nationwide with shops looted and gas stations set on fire.

The man died in custody on Monday after being pinned to the ground and suffocated by police.

One of the four officers involved held a knee to the man's neck, whose close-to-last words were "I can't breathe". The police were responding to a call from a local grocery store where Floyd had allegedly tried to pay with a counterfeit $20 bill.