Protesters upset by Ferguson decision storm St. Louis City Hall

Several protesters angered by a grand jury decision to not indict white police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown stormed into St. Louis City Hall on Wednesday, causing local police to lock down the building and call for reinforcements.

Those who made it inside City Hall were part of a group of about 300 protesters who marched and held a mock trial of Wilson, who killed Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on Aug. 9.

The protesters, who shouted "shame, shame" while rushing into the building, were met by more than 100 police officers. The building was locked down for one hour and at least two people were arrested in the melee, officials said.

An influx of National Guardsmen helped make a second night of protests in Ferguson much calmer than the first, when 12 commercial buildings were set ablaze.

Still, police armed with tear gas and pepper spray faced off against protesters who set a squad car on fire and broke windows at Ferguson’s City Hall. The overnight protests resulted in 58 arrests, including 45 in Ferguson and 13 in St. Louis.

Unrest has swept through Ferguson and surrounding areas since St. Louis Prosecutor Robert McCullough announced the grand jury decision on Monday night. Protests have also been staged across the United States, with participants rallying behind the slogan “hands up, don’t shoot” — a reference to Brown’s alleged stance and last words at the time of his killing.

Most of the nationwide protests were peaceful, with large crowds gathering and marching in New York, Seattle, Chicago and other major cities.

Other events weren't as calm. In Oakland, California, a crowd of protesters smashed windows at car dealerships, restaurants and convenience stores. A rally that drew thousands in Minneapolis took a violent turn when a car struck a protester and drove through a pack of other demonstrators. And in Portland, Oregon, police used pepper spray and made arrests after about 300 people disrupted bus and light rail traffic by walking across the Willamette River Bridge.

Police in Boston said on Wednesday that more than 45 people were arrested in protests overnight that drew more than a thousand demonstrators. The majority of those arrestees had their charges downgraded. In Dallas, seven were arrested for blocking traffic on Interstate 35, a major north-south U.S. roadway.

In New York, where police used pepper spray to control the crowd after protesters tried to block the Lincoln Tunnel and Triborough Bridge, 10 demonstrators were arrested, police said.

Protesters in Los Angeles threw water bottles and other objects at officers outside city police headquarters and later obstructed both sides of a downtown freeway with makeshift roadblocks and debris, authorities said.

Rallies have also begun gathering steam internationally, with about 400 people holding a candle light vigil outside the U.S. embassy in London on Wednesday in memory of people killed by police around the world. 

In a show of solidarity, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have also begun taking pictures of themselves holding messages of support and sending them via social media to protesters in Ferguson.

Al Jazeera and wire services