In the wake of community outrage in Minneapolis, the place where Floyd died in front of the store and the surrounding area became a makeshift memorial throughout May 26, with many placards paying tribute to him and referencing the Black Lives Matter movement. As the day progressed, more people showed up to demonstrate against Floyd's death. The crowd, estimated to be in the hundreds of people, then marched to the 3rd Precinct of the Minneapolis Police.[99] Participants used posters and slogans with phrases such as "Justice for George", "I Can't Breathe", and "Black Lives Matter".
The protests were initially peaceful, but later there was vandalism of stores, and the 3rd Precinct police station was vandalized by breaking windows and lighting fires. This led to police officers in riot gear using tear gas and flash grenades on the protesters, while some protesters threw rocks and other objects at the police.[106] The police also used rubber bullets and smoke bombs against the protesters. The media has highlighted the apparent differences in aggression between the police response to black protesters in these protests versus the more measured response to the 2020 United States anti-lockdown protests featuring gun-wielding white protesters.[107][108] This sentiment also spread on social media.