George Floyd protests spread nationwide

CNN has criticized the arrest of one of its teams on the ground in Minneapolis in a tweet this morning, and called for their release.

CNN journalist Omar Jimenez has been taken into police custody during a live broadcast at the site of the protests in Minneapolis, after clearly identifying himself to officers.

Jimenez's crew, including a producer and a camera operator, were also placed in handcuffs.

The CNN camera was also taken into custody and continued to record as the crew was handcuffed, with police seemingly unaware that the camera was still on.

Watch the video here:

Dramatic scenes have unfolded in Minneapolis after the police arrived on the scene and clashed with protesters. It was the first time authorities had been seen on the scene in more than an hour.

The police officers, some in riot gear, immediately launched into action, using pepper spray and batons to disperse crowds near the police station. Police were seen shoving at least one person, while protesters responded by throwing projectiles at the officers as others fled the site.

Watch:

Police and fire engines have arrived at the epicenter of the protests in Minneapolis, where a number of buildings have been burning.

CNN crew on the site witnessed the authorities arriving to the scene just after 4:30 a.m. ET.

A large number of protesters are still out early this morning in Minneapolis and a number of buildings are on fire.

Hundreds of people are still protesting near the Minneapolis police building in the 3rd Precinct.

At least five other buildings in the vicinity of the station are in flames. One of the burning structures that has now been destroyed by the fire was an events space with a multiple restaurants about a block away from the police station. A liquor store across the street from the station has also been burned down.

The Minnesota National Guard tweeted late last night that they had activated more than 500 soldiers to St. Paul, Minneapolis and surrounding communities. 

When asked about the National Guard, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said “many of the National Guard as I mentioned were stationed and are being stationed at locations to help prevent some of the looting that we’ve seen.” 

Some of the locations where the National Guard is being positioned include banks, grocery stores and pharmacies. 

Protests spread across the United States for the third night in a row on Thursday, as crowds demonstrated against police brutality and called for justice in the death of George Floyd.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after pleading for help as a white police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes while pinning him to the ground. Floyd was declared dead at a nearby hospital soon after, according to authorities.

Here's a look at the biggest developments:

The New York Police Department carried out more than 40 arrests and summons during the George Floyd protests on Thursday, police told CNN.

The charges range from obstruction of governmental administration to criminal possession of a weapon, which stemmed from a woman who pulled a switchblade at Union Square, said a law enforcement official.

One protestor was also arrested after trying to yank the gun out of a New York Police officer’s holster, the official said.

According to the official, one of the injured officers suffered a possible concussion.

Demonstrators were protesting the death of George Floyd, who died after pleading that he couldn't breathe while a police officer held him down with his knee.

US President Donald Trump's tweet on the protests in Minnesota, which he posted earlier tonight as protesters set fires in St. Paul and Minneapolis, has been flagged by Twitter as violating the platform's rules.

The original tweet read:

Twitter's response: The tweet is hidden by a notice from Twitter -- but is still viewable behind the notice.

"This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible," says the notice.

A separate statement from the official Twitter Communications account explained that the tweet had been flagged "based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today."

The warning message will likely fuel Trump's ongoing dispute with Twitter. Just yesterday, Trump signed an executive order targeting social media companies, days after Twitter called two of his tweets "potentially misleading."

On Tuesday, Twitter applied a fact-check to two of Trump's tweets, including one that claimed, without evidence, that mail-in ballots would lead to widespread voter fraud. Trump immediately shot back, accusing the social media giant of censorship and warning that if it continued to offer addendums to his messages, he would use the power of the federal government to rein it in, or even shut it down.

Tech companies are also pushing back on the order; Facebook and Google have said Trump's proposal risks harming the internet and the wider digital economy.