Ore‘gone’ crazy: Night 54 of chaos
Portland Ore., endured yet another night of violence and vandalism Monday into Tuesday — after the largest crowd in weeks stormed the streets in the 54th night of protests.
The massive group included moms dressed in yellow and dads dressed in orange, who marched with protesters to the Multnomah County Justice Center and created a human shield to protect them against police, KOIN TV reported.
Video taken by a KOIN reporter shows the parents and protesters arm in arm as they slowly march down the street.
But as the night wore on, the protests descended into yet another evening of clashes between protesters and federal officers, who were recently deployed to the city by President Trump.
Demonstrators set garbage cans on fire and broke through plywood protecting the federal courthouse to smash windows, according to Portland police. Windows of the city hall building were also destroyed and a jewelry store on Southwest Third Avenue was looted. No arrests were made.
Videos show federal officers shooting pepper-spray balls and tear gas at protesters and then charging toward a crowd near the courthouse.
Portland has been a flashpoint in the nationwide movement for racial equality following the May 25 Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
Protesters torched Portland’s police-union headquarters on Saturday
in what officials said was a riot.
Last week, Oregon officials said they planned to sue the Trump administration for sending the federal officers to the city. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer on Saturday released a statement accusing federal agents of “kidnapping” protesters and vowed to “curb [the] egregious abuses” of the agents.
But on Tuesday the Trump administration defended the agents’ actions and their presence to quell protests.
Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf pledged to keep the agents in the city as long as protesters attempt to vandalize federal property.
Wolf told reporters at a Tuesday briefing, “These individuals are organized and they have one mission in mind: to burn down or cause extreme damage to the federal courthouse and to law-enforcement officers.”
Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan at the briefing defended the officers’ use of unmarked vehicles.
Morgan also clarified that while the federal officers wear clearly visible patches demarcating their federal-police affiliation, they are authorized to work without name tags so protesters can’t leak their personal information.
Wolf said the federal officers had to step up enforcement after a “lack of action” from local officials. The officers have made 43 arrests in Portland since July 4, but couldn’t confirm how many suspects have been charged with a crime.