New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter was arrested during protests in support of George Floyd.

Chiara de Blasio, 25, was arrested after reportedly being a part of a 100-strong crowd who refused to move on when asked by police in downtown Manhattan.

The New York Police Department confirmed her arrest was for unlawful assembly. She was given a desk appearance ticket and released on Sunday morning.

Sources told CBS New York she did not throw anything at officers but she was yelling.

She was among 345 people who were arrested that night, the NYPD has said. The mayor is yet to comment on his daughter’s arrest.

De Blasio himself has been criticised for his comments over the weekend about the city’s protests, particularly by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The mayor said the police showed ’tremendous restraint’ during the protests, something Ocasio-Cortez called ’unacceptable’.

She tweeted: “Your comments tonight were unacceptable. As mayor, this police department is under your leadership.

“This moment demands leadership [and] accountability from each of us. Defending and making excuses for NYPD running SUVs into crowds was wrong. Running SUVs in crowds of people should never, ever be normalised. No matter who does it, no matter why.”

A video had been posted on Twitter showing NYPD SUV’s driving into protesters, knocking many to the floor.

Ocasio-Cortez added she wanted officers involved ’brought to justice’, saying: “They could've killed them, and we don't know how many they injured.”

Her criticism of de Blasio came after he said he had watched the video.

He said at a press conference: "I’ve seen that video and I’ve obviously heard about a number of other instances. It’s inappropriate for protesters to surround a police vehicle and threaten police officers.

“That’s wrong on its face, and that hasn’t happened in the history of protests in the city.”

He added while the incident was ’upsetting’ he claimed it ’was started by a group of protesters converging on a police vehicle, attacking that vehicle. It’s unacceptable’.

He also told reporters: “I’m not gonna blame officers who are trying to deal with an absolutely impossible situation.

 “The folks who were converging on that police car did the wrong thing to begin with and they created an untenable situation.”

Demonstrations, which began in Minneapolis, after the death of Floyd, have now swept through 70 cities across America, where 40 are now subject to curfews. 

The protests were sparked after a video was released showing the unarmed black man being arrested by officers, with one clearly kneeling on his neck as he cried out for breath. He later died in police custody.

One officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder.