Portland in storm as cop HQ burns
Police-union office torched in riot
Mayhem broke out in Portland, Ore., over the weekend as anti-cop protesters torched the city’s policeunion headquarters and local law-enforcement officials declared a riot, according to reports.
On the city’s 52nd consecutive night of protests Saturday, vigilantes broke into the Portland Police Association office and set fires, despite orders from cops to disperse.
Demonstrators first stopped outside the Portland Police Department’s North Precinct station house and began chanting, “Quit your job!” at around 9:30 p.m.
After cops threatened to arrest them, some of the protesters then headed to the Portland Police Association headquarters and began flipping Dumpsters to form a barricade around the building.
The Portland Police Bureau declared a riot at around 10:50 p.m. when protesters refused to leave the area surrounding the office.
Cops extinguished the fires and “restored order in the neighborhood,” the Portland Police Bureau tweeted at 11:43 p.m.
The chaos erupted after weeks of unrest in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. The disturbances prompted President Trump to send federal officials into Portland.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the Trump administration of operating like a “banana republic” after video emerged showing federal oficers allegedly kidnapping protesters in unmarked cars.
“Last month, the Administration tear-gassed peaceful protesters,” she wrote in a joint statement Saturday with Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer. “Now, videos show them kidnapping protesters in unmarked cars in Portland — all with the goal of inflaming tensions for their own gain.”
On Sunday, Trump defended the actions of the federal agents, saying they are in Portland to help.
”We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it. Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action. We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal!”
Trump has vowed to help protect federal property and monuments by deploying officers from the US Marshals Special Operations Group and US Customs and Border Protection.
But Oregon officials have threatened to sue the US government over the deployment, with some saying the presence of the feds only stokes the flames of unrest.