George Floyd Protest Curfews: Which US Cities Imposed Them in 2020

Originally published 2020-05-31.

Within a week of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020, cities across the United States ordered people off the streets at night. By the weekend of 30–31 May, curfews were in force in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Rochester, Miami-Dade County and many more. By early June, at least 200 American cities had imposed curfews, and National Guard troops had been called out in more than 30 states and Washington, D.C.

This page records what was announced in those first days, city by city, with the hours that were reported at the time. The orders were temporary and changed quickly, often from one night to the next, so treat the times as a historical snapshot rather than a complete legal record.

Why so many cities turned to curfews

Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. A bystander’s video spread worldwide within hours. Protests began in Minneapolis the next day and quickly spread to dozens of cities, drawing very large and mostly peaceful crowds.

As night fell, some gatherings turned into clashes with police, arson and looting. Mayors and governors used emergency powers to set curfews, hoping to separate daytime protest from night-time disorder and to give police legal grounds to clear the streets. Critics argued that curfews were applied broadly, swept up peaceful protesters, journalists and homeless people, and sometimes escalated tensions.

Enforcement was uneven. Video from many cities showed crowds staying out after the deadline and police using tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades to disperse them. In New York, footage of two police vehicles pushing into a crowd of protesters in Brooklyn on 30 May drew intense criticism. New York City itself introduced a curfew on 1 June, first at 11 p.m. and then from 8 p.m. the following night.

Minneapolis and the Midwest

Minneapolis and Saint Paul

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ordered an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew across Minneapolis and Saint Paul for the nights of 29 and 30 May, and Mayor Jacob Frey issued a matching local order. The city’s Third Precinct police station had been set on fire on the night of 28 May after officers evacuated it. Frey urged residents to stay home, warning that people breaking the curfew gave cover to those intent on destroying their own neighbourhoods.

The National Guard response grew fast. Walz first activated 500 troops on 28 May and then, on 29 May, the entire Minnesota Guard. In total more than 7,000 Guard members were activated, the largest deployment of the state’s forces since the Second World War.

Less than an hour after the curfew in Minneapolis went into effect, people were still outside. Then absolute chaos. #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/opNgdIURdP

— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) May 31, 2020

Chicago

Mayor Lori Lightfoot set a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. after a night of confrontations downtown in which police reported many arrests.

Milwaukee

Milwaukee ordered people indoors from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the first weekend of unrest.

The West: Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Denver and Salt Lake City

Los Angeles

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a downtown curfew from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. on Saturday 30 May, later widening it across the city. That day thousands of people marched, and several police cars were set alight in the Fairfax District near The Grove shopping centre. Governor Gavin Newsom sent in the National Guard at the city’s request.

A line of police cars are on fire in the Fairfax District of #LosAngeles. Some reports claim that crowds are surrounding the Grove, which is one of LA’s most upscale shopping centers. Crowds had earlier claimed that they would march on Beverly Hills. pic.twitter.com/eOBqWuk74M

— Shahab (@SSMoghadam) May 31, 2020

(This post is no longer available on X.)

Seattle

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a 5 p.m. curfew on the afternoon of 30 May, one of the earliest start times in the country, after fires were set downtown and police vehicles were burned. She described the situation as extremely dangerous while stressing that most demonstrators had been peaceful.

I will soon be signing an emergency order and the @CityofSeattle will be imposing a 5 pm curfew soon. Crowds need to disburse from downtown immediately.

— Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) May 30, 2020

Portland

Portland, which would see protests almost nightly for months, announced an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew after damage downtown.

Denver

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock imposed an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, saying it was needed “to help protect people and property”.

Salt Lake City

Utah Governor Gary Herbert activated the National Guard and Salt Lake City set a curfew after protesters overturned and burned a police car and vandalised the State Capitol area on 30 May. Video from that day shows a man raising a bow at protesters downtown before the crowd overwhelmed him and turned over his vehicle; he was later arrested.

Here is the video of the crossbow guy in downtown Salt Lake City who attempted to attack protesters. He was quickly overwhelmed & his car overturned. pic.twitter.com/E6sTpA9QBx

— 𝕬𝖓 801 𝕺𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖆𝖑 🥁 (@TheJazzyUte) May 31, 2020

The South and East: Atlanta, Nashville, Miami, Philadelphia and Rochester

Atlanta

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered a 9 p.m. curfew lasting until sunrise. On the night of 29 May a crowd attacked the CNN Center, the network’s headquarters, smashing windows and throwing objects at the police lined up inside the lobby.

BREAKING: Cops being attacked in lobby of CNN HQ in Atlanta; CNN newsroom employees are locked down floors above riotpic.twitter.com/7nijxhWiSV

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 30, 2020

(This post is no longer available on X.)

Nashville

Tennessee’s capital declared a civil emergency on 30 May. That night the historic Metro Courthouse was set on fire, and protesters pulled down the statue of Edward Ward Carmack outside the State Capitol. Carmack, a newspaper editor and US senator who died in 1908, is remembered for editorials that attacked the anti-lynching journalist Ida B. Wells.

The fire is now out and people are starting to break inside Metro courthouse pic.twitter.com/9sRI0JWK3t

— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) May 31, 2020

Miami-Dade County

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez imposed a countywide curfew after a tense standoff between protesters and officers outside Miami police headquarters.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia set a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. after several police cars were burned and shops were looted in Center City.

Rochester, New York

Mayor Lovely Warren set a curfew from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., citing the “potential for widespread breach of the peace”. Police there used rubber bullets. These are classed as less-lethal, but they can still cause serious injuries and have occasionally killed people.

Are curfews legal, and do they work?

In the United States, mayors and governors can usually declare a local emergency under state law and impose temporary curfews as part of it. Courts tend to allow short, clearly limited curfews during genuine emergencies, while broad or long-running orders that restrict protest can face constitutional challenges under the First Amendment.

Whether curfews reduce violence is debated. Supporters say they give police a clear rule to enforce and help get large crowds off the streets before damage spreads. Critics point out that many of the 2020 orders were announced with little notice, that tens of thousands of people were arrested in the following weeks, often for curfew violations alone, and that crowds frequently stayed out regardless. Several cities lifted their curfews within days once protests became calmer, and some later settled lawsuits from people arrested under them.

What followed

The protests that began in May 2020 became some of the largest in American history. At least 14,000 people had been arrested by the end of June. At least 19 people died in connection with the unrest between 26 May and 8 June, and insured property damage nationally was estimated at between $1 billion and $2 billion, the highest recorded for civil disorder in the United States. In Minneapolis and Saint Paul alone, around 1,500 properties were damaged.

On 20 April 2021, Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced on 25 June 2021 to 22 and a half years in prison. The national debate that followed reshaped conversations about policing, use of force and racial justice across the United States and beyond.

For the people who lived through those nights, the curfews remain a vivid memory: empty streets, helicopters overhead and phones buzzing with emergency alerts as cities tried to hold together during one of the most turbulent weeks in recent American history.

Sources: Wikipedia, George Floyd protests; Wikipedia, George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul; Wikipedia, List of George Floyd protests in the United States. City curfew hours as announced by local officials and reported at the time.