Protester shot after car drives into crowd of people marching against the death of Elijah McClain in Colorado

Protesters shut down Interstate 225 during a march against the death of Elijah McClain and racial injustice in Aurora, Colorado (Picture: REUTERS)

A protester was shot in Colorado when a car drove into a crowd of people marching against the death of Elijah McClain in police custody.

The Aurora Police Department said on Twitter that protesters were walking on Interstate 225 on Saturday when a vehicle drove through the crowd.

Police said a demonstrator fired a weapon, striking at least one person who was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Authorities added that the vehicle was towed away from the scene and they are now investigating the incident.

The protesters were reportedly marching in protest of the death of Elijah McClain, an unarmed black 23-year-old man who died three days after he was put in a chokehold and sedated by Aurora police.

People run to get out of the way as a Jeep speeds through a crowd of people protesting the death of Elijah McClain on I-225 (Getty Images)

Mr McClain went into cardiac arrest, was later declared brain dead and taken off life support.

Someone had reported Mr McClain for looking "sketchy" because he was wearing a ski mask.

Police said protesters also broke windows to the courthouse on Saturday and a fire was started in an office, with demonstrators ordered to leave after an unlawful assembly was declared.

People run for cover moments after a driver in a blue Jeep rammed through the crowd of protesters and shots were fired during a march on Interstate 225 in Aurora, Colorado (REUTERS)

Tensions have been heightened at recent protests against racial injustice since federal officials were sent to quell demonstrations in Portland, Oregon.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse in Portland into the early hours of Saturday.

The Federal Protective Service had declared the gathering as “an unlawful assembly” and said officers had been injured.

A man holds up a smoke flare on Saturday in Richmond, Virginia (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, police declared a riot in Seattle on Saturday.

On the same day a rubbish lorry was set on fire as protesters faced off with police in Virginia during a demonstration in support of protesters in Portland.

Police worked to clear the crowd of a several hundred protesters late on Saturday and declared an “unlawful assembly” at around 11pm local time. What appeared to be tear gas was deployed to disperse the group.

Protesters had been planning the demonstration called Richmond Stands With Portland for days, news outlets reported, in an apparent reaction to ongoing tensions between protesters and US agents at the federal courthouse in Oregon’s largest city.

Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality have spread around the world following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota who died after a white officer held him to the ground with a knee to his neck.