Fires and rocks: Protesters target police union HQ

PORTLAND, Ore. — Protesters repeatedly set fire late Monday night to a police union headquarters building and were repelled by officers spraying tear gas, officials said. Twenty-five people were arrested amid clashes that stretched into Tuesday morning.

People in a group of about 300 people hurled rocks and bottles at officers and set three fires to the sides of the building and one to an awning, police said. All of the fires were put out.

One demonstrator climbed atop the building’s roof to unfurl a banner, and the building’s walls were spray-painted, The Oregonian/oregonlive reported.

Portland has been gripped by nightly protests for nearly three months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Demonstrations have targeted police buildings and federal buildings.

Some protesters have called for reductions in police budgets while the city’s mayor and some people in the Black community have decried the violence, saying it is counterproductive.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump renewed calls to have Gov. Kate Brown and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler call in the state’s National Guard.

“They must stop calling these anarchists and agitators ‘peaceful protestors’. Come back into the real world! The Federal Government is ready to end this problem immediately upon your request,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Brown responded on Twitter to Trump’s demand, calling it “political theater.” Brown said the state’s National Guard is currently focused on fighting wildfires and distributing personal protective equipment.