A white former Minneapolis police officer was charged with murder on Friday after a bystander's video showed him kneeling on the neck of an unarmed black man who later died, an incident that triggered three nights of violent protests.

Derek Chauvin, the officer seen on the cellphone video footage kneeling on George Floyd's neck, is in custody and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman told reporters at a news briefing.

"We have evidence, we have the citizen's camera's video, the horrible, horrific, terrible thing we have all seen over and over again, we have the officer's body-worn camera, we have statements from some witnesses," Freeman said.

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Protests erupt throughout America

Protesters across the country were planning marches and rallies to demand that police be held accountable for Floyd's death. Below is the partial list where protests are happening. 

Minneapolis

After three nights in which peaceful rallies gave way to arson, looting and vandalism, the authorities were on the alert for further unrest on Friday in the country's epicenter of rage over Floyd's death, even after the officer who pinned him by the neck was arrested and charged with murder.

The mayor of Minneapolis declared a strict curfew for the city on Friday after three nights of violent protests. Mayor Jacob Frey ordered everyone off the city's streets from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. The curfew will extend through the weekend.

The order is expected to come with strict law enforcement, fire and medical personnel and National Guard troops deployed to restore order. 

Washington D.C.

Friday, protesters gathered in front of the White House, chanted "Hands Up, Don't Shoot!" to show the police brutality targeted at the African American people in the U.S. Graffiti scrawled on the wall of the Department of the Treasury, saying insulting words towards President Donald Trump. Clashes between demonstrations and the police were also reported. 

Louisville

Following a night of violence in the Kentucky city, police were bracing for more street protests on Friday over the death of Floyd and several others, including Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in her Louisville home in March.

During a night of protests on Thursday, at least seven people were shot, one fatally.

New York

Several groups gathered on Friday afternoon for a "We can't breathe" vigil and rally in lower Manhattan pressing for legislation outlawing police "chokehold," used by a city police officer in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, also a black man.

Both Garner and Floyd were heard to gasp out, "I can't breathe" before losing consciousness.

Protest organizers are also calling for charges to be brought against a white woman who became an infamous social media personality overnight after she called police on a black man in Central Park, who asked her to keep her dog on a leash.

Atlanta

About 1,000 protesters marched from downtown's Centennial Olympic Park to the state capitol, blocking traffic and an interstate highway along the way. The demonstration was intended not only to call attention to the death of Floyd but also to the February killing of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, a black jogger whose shooting in Brunswick, Georgia, was captured on video. Three white men have been charged for his death earlier this month.

Detroit

A "March Against Police Brutality" was held late Friday afternoon outside the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters. Many chanted "No justice, no peace." Among the signs being carried were "End police brutality" and "I won't stop yelling until everyone can breathe.”

Denver

On Friday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered for a second day of protests as police looked on.

On Thursday night, Denver police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds where some were vandalizing parked cars at the state capitol and blocking traffic. There were 13 arrests related to the protests.

Houston

Hundreds gathered in a protest organized by the group Black Lives Matter at Houston's City Hall, and the crowd spilled onto Interstate 45's entrance ramp near downtown Friday. The crowd chanted, "I can't breathe" and "No justice, no peace," local media reported.

Leaders vocal about the tragedy

President Trump said on Friday he had spoken with Floyd's family.

Trump, speaking during an event at the White House, also said "we can't allow" the demonstrations in Minneapolis "to descend further into lawless anarchy and chaos."

In a late-night tweet on Thursday, Trump wrote that he will "send in the National Guard" to Minneapolis to restore order. "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," Trump wrote in a Twitter, prompting the platform to hide the message for "glorifying violence."

The president tried to walk back the Twitter threat on Friday after it triggered backlash, saying he understood why the death had sparked nationwide protests about police violence against African Americans.

But he added that they should not be allowed to turn to "lawless anarchy."

Meanwhile, the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden lamented the "open wound" of the nation's systemic racism on Friday as he responded to the police brutallity on Floyd. He drew an implicit contrast with President Trump, who has suggested authorities could respond with violence to the protests that followed the incident.

"The original sin of this country still stains our nation today," Biden said in remarks broadcast from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. "It's time for us to take a hard look at uncomfortable truths."

Some African-American leaders and activists are calling for Biden to choose a black woman as his campaign mate, which would help demonstrate to black voters, a crucial component of the Democratic base, that he is committed to addressing issues like criminal justice reform and police misconduct.

Former President Barack Obama commented on the incident, saying it "shouldn't be the new 'normal' in 2020 America."

"It can't be 'normal.' If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better," Obama said in a statement. He also stressed the importance of a full investigation into Floyd's death to make sure "that justice is ultimately done."

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(With input from agencies)