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Santa Clarita Cancels Curfew As Protesters Take To Streets; Device 'Designed To Cause Harm' Found Nearby

SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA) - A protest sparked by the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minnesota drew dozens of people Thursday to Santa Clarita.

By midday, protesters had gathered near the Westfield Valencia Town Center and along Newhall Ranch Road, where Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials said they remained peaceful.

Deputies were stationed around the Town Center mall to keep the peace, while a contingent of National Guard troops was on hand in what sheriff's officials called a "proactive" step.

In response to the protest, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station put out a tweet saying "We hear you. We see you. We are vigilantly watching over your safety and our community's."

A short time later, McBean Parkway was closed between Town Center and Valencia for the protests.

Several hundred protesters also gathered Thursday on the streets of Hollywood, where they headed toward the mayor's mansion in Hancock Park, where protesters have gathered in recent days.

The city of Santa Clarita had previously declared a curfew for 6 p.m. Around 4 p.m.,  the city issued a statement that it would cancel the curfew, because of "the peaceful protests we have seen today in our city."

Sheriff's officials said at one point a suspicious device was discovered at a nearby Shell gas station that "was definitively designed to cause harm to others when tossed into crowd".

A bomb squad later determined the device was not an explosive.

No injuries or arrests were reported.

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