Bikers, cowboys & dances: Protesters hit US streets for George Floyd in peaceful marches (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of US cities as protests against police brutality, sparked by the killing of George Floyd during his arrest, approach the two-week mark.

In contrast to the protests ahead of the weekend, which often descended into chaos and riots and were marred by looting, demonstrations on Sunday afternoon – including the major Black Lives Matter rallies in Washington and New York – were incident-free.

Videos shared on social media showed DC protesters marching from Dupont Circle to the area near Lafayette Park, where hundreds sprawled themselves on the ground as part of a “die-in.”

The protesters could not move into Lafayette Park, located directly in front of the White House, because its entrances were fenced off earlier this week after rioters defaced walls and a monument inside the park with graffiti. The walls were subsequently plastered with signs in support of racial justice.

A sign painted by protesters stating "Defund the Police" is seen next to a Black Lives Matter sign in Washington, DC © REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

A sizable crowd gathered around part of 16th Street, which was recently renamed “Black Lives Matter Plaza” by Washington DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.Bowser herself has been actively participating in the rallies. The crowd chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “Say their names.”

Thousands of protesters flocked to Times Square in New York City on Sunday. They raised their fists, referring to George Floyd, an unarmed black man who choked to death under a police officer’s knee in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as "the man who changed the world."

In Compton, southern Los Angeles County, protests had a party flavor to them, with horse-mounted protesters and bikers joining the “peace walk” that saw demonstrators marching and riding from the Gateway Towne Center to the Martin Luther King Jr monument near City Hall.

The procession, which resembled a carnival, was led by bikers with horse-mounted protesters donning cowboy hats mingling with the crowd.

An impromptu dance party broke out as people marched.

The Compton rally boasted several celebrities in attendance, including Houston Rockets basketball player Russell Westbrook and San Antonio Spurs wing DeMar DeRozan. 

Westbrook, a Long Beach, California native, even took to an improvised stage to address the crowd.

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