在美国东部北卡罗来纳州最大的城市夏洛特市，数百名示威者无视午夜宵禁的命令，星期五凌晨举行和平游行，抗议警察开枪打死一名非洲裔美国人。
有关当局说，只要抗议者继续以和平方式游行，他们就不打算强制执行宵禁。夏洛特－麦克伦堡警察局的史密斯警长说：“宵禁是我们维护和平的一种手段。目前的抗议活动是和平的。”
一位妇女对美国之音说她对宵禁“异常”担忧。她说：“我们担心警察会采取什么行动。”
电视录像显示，星期五凌晨，一些抗议者微笑着和国民警卫队员握手。
星期四，大批示威群众游行穿过夏洛特市中心，连续第三个晚上举行抗议活动。局势大体平静，只有一个地点向示威者使用了催泪瓦斯。
整个城市部署了身穿防爆服的警察。他们装备了橡皮子弹和催泪瓦斯。
北卡罗来纳州州长、前夏洛特市市长麦克罗伊已经宣布该市进入紧急状态，并表示警察将逮捕违法分子。他说“我们不能容忍任何形式的暴力和破坏财产的行为。”
人群中包括非洲裔美国人、白人和拉美裔人等不同种族。一些拉美裔抗议者手举标语牌，上面写着“拉美裔人说黑人的生命很重要。”
集会中出现了很多神职人员，他们敦促在场者保持冷静与和平。但是，有些抗议者与神职人员发生争吵，指责他们不懂夏洛特居民所承受的痛苦，因此不应该期望他们保持冷静。抗议者星期四晚上8点钟左右开始游行，之前志愿者分发了以防催泪瓦斯的面具、瓶装水和燕麦棒。
Hundreds of demonstrators defied a midnight curfew in Charlotte, North Carolina in the eastern United States, marching peacefully in the early hours of Friday morning against the controversial police shooting of an African American man.
Authorities say they have no plans to enforce the curfew as long as the protests remain peaceful. Major Gerald Smith of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said, "The curfew is a tool that we will use to keep the peace. And right now we have a peaceful protest."
One woman told VOA she was "extraordinarily" worried about the curfew. "We're worried they (the police) are going to do something."
Television video, however, showed some protesters shaking hands with smiling National Guard personnel early Friday.
Thursday night, large crowds of demonstrators marched through the heart of Charlotte in the third night of protests. While generally peaceful, tear gas was used against demonstrators at one location.
Police in riot gear were dispersed throughout the city. The officers were armed with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Governor Pat McCrory, a former mayor of Charlotte, already has declared a state of emergency, and he said police would arrest lawbreakers. "We cannot tolerate any type of violence ... or destruction of property," McCrory said.
The crowd was a mix of races -- African-Americans, whites and Hispanic people, some of whom carried signs saying "Latinos say black lives matter."
Many clergy were present at the rallies, urging calm and peace for all present. But other protestors were seen arguing with preachers, claiming they didn't understand the pain Charlotte residents had suffered and that they could not be expected to stay calm.
Before protestors began marching around 8 p.m., volunteers handed out masks to protect from tear gas, as well as water bottles and granola bars.
