In cities across North Carolina, protests turned violent as darkness fell Saturday

Away from the Triangle, protests turned violent in several cities across North Carolina Saturday.

In Fayetteville, where Mayor Mitch Colvin joined a peaceful protest Saturday afternoon, vandals set fire to the city’s historic Market House after the sun went down, then looted a JC Penney store at Cross Creek Mall.

As the city cleaned up Sunday morning, Colvin issued a curfew for Sunday evening that he said could start as early as 7 p.m.

In Charlotte, 30 people were arrested overnight after protests there turned violent, The Charlotte Observer reported. Several downtown businesses were vandalized or looted. According to social media posts, more protests were planned for Sunday afternoon in charlotte.

Similarly, in Greensboro, peaceful afternoon protests turned violent when darkness came. Members of the crowd threw rocks and bottles at police, then shattered storefront windows.

In Winston-Salem on Saturday afternoon, protesters gathered outside a police station and outside a barbershop whose owner was linked to a racist Facebook post. Both groups of protesters remained orderly and peacefully dispersed.

This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 2:21 PM with the headline "In cities across North Carolina, protests turned violent as darkness fell Saturday."