Former Vice President Joe Biden, the apparent Democratic presidential nominee, released a statement just after midnight Sunday morning, calling the protests “right and necessary” while urging peaceful demonstrations over violence.

“I know that a grief that dark and deep may at times feel too heavy to bear,” he said in the statement. “I know. I also know that the only way to bear it is to turn all that anguish into purpose.”

He urged Americans to use their pain to make change.

“We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us,” he said.

Protests continue to rage across the country as curfews go into effect. National Guard units in 12 states and Washington, D.C., have been activated.

In New York City, where there is no curfew, protesters and police officers are continuing to clash through Brooklyn as unrest edged into violence around Manhattan's Union Square. The NYPD has arrested more than 100 people as of Saturday evening, a senior police official said.

In Washington, D.C. multiple fires raged as protesters and police skirmished. At the White House Saturday, police used pepper spray, tear gas and what appeared to be rubber bullets on protesters.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti put the entire city under curfew and deployed the National Guard to the as fires raged in the city on its 4th day of protests.

Similar scenes played out across the country in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, Utah, Florida and several other states.

In Minneapolis, journalists were told to leave the streets and police strong armed protesters, escalating their use of force to try to get people to go home.

The actor did not say what city he was in at the time.

The California National Guard has been deployed to Los Angeles, the city's mayor Eric Garcetti said on Twitter Saturday evening.

The Mayor said the guard has been sent "overnight to support our local response to maintain peace and safety on the streets of our city." The mayor also expanded a curfew to the entire city, instead of just downtown Los Angeles.

California joins 11 other states and D.C. that have activated their national guard in response to protests.

LAS VEGAS — Christian Williams stood on a downtown sidewalk near the county jail.

The 9-year-old held a sign that read, “Stand up for Floyd,” while other demonstrators walked down the street chanting.

The march, held Saturday evening in response to George Floyd’s death, was Christian’s first. He said the scene was a lot at times, with the crowds and honking cars, but it felt good.

“Because maybe when the cops see this, they will know not to do this again,” he said.

Christian came to the protest with his mother, Dee Young, 29. She said she brought her son to educate him about Floyd’s death and police shootings.

“He’s got to see this because he’s a little black boy in America and he needs to be aware,” Young said.

She looked over at the crowd of hundreds of protesters, then she turned to her son.

“Look at this,” she said to him. “All these people from all these different races coming together for the cause.”

The New York City Police Department arrested more than 100 people Saturday during protests, a senior police official said, adding that 15 police vehicles have been burned in Manhattan and in Brooklyn.

Police have seen the now-viral video where a NYPD SUV drove through a barricade pushing protestors on the street out of the way and onto the ground. 

Multiple law enforcement officials say the vehicle was hit with rocks, bottles, and someone threw a lit trash bag on top of the SUV and the officers decided to push the barrier into the crowd instead of confronting the protestors outside the car.