Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Protesters pick up pace in Oregon city
Portland crowd confronts U.S. officers
PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal campaign to dispel unrest in Portland appears to have instead rejuvenated the city’s movement, as protest- ers gathered by the hundreds late Friday and into Saturday morning — the largest crowd in weeks.
Federal officers at times flooded street corridors with tear gas and shot projectiles from paintball guns, while demonstrators responded by shouting that the officers in fatigues were “terrorists” and chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets.” Protesters in Portland have gathered for more than 50 consecutive nights.
While the protesters have repeatedly decried the city’s own police tactics, Mayor Ted Wheeler, who also serves as police commissioner, and other leaders have united in calls for federal agencies to stay away. City commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty went to join protesters gathered outside the county Justice Center downtown, saying the city will “not allow armed military forces to attack our people.”
“Today we show the country and the world that the city of Portland, even as much as we fight among ourselves, will come together to stand up for our constitutional rights,” Hardesty said Friday.
The Department of Homeland Security has described the stepped-up involvement of federal officers as part of an effort to oppose lawlessness in the city, but state and local leaders Friday contended that the federal officers themselves may be violating the law.
Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the injury of one protester, who appeared to have been shot in the head with a less-lethal weapon outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland. Oregon’s attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, has filed a lawsuit, accusing federal officers of unlawful tactics in how they went about detaining people by pulling them into unmarked vans.
Hundreds continued to demonstrate and riot after midnight Saturday, playing music, holding shields, tearing down temporary fences and throwing fireworks at the county’s Justice Center.
Along with street medics, protesters also have the support of a snack van that offers free Gatorade and instant noodles, and a makeshift kitchen called Riot Ribs that cooks bratwursts and even a Beyond Meat sausage. On Saturday, someone had set up a stand selling T-shirts promoting racial equity and hand washing.
The protests have long featured a mix of tactics, with some there to sustain the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in May. Others have engaged in more unruly responses, such as graffiti or throwing objects at officers. Dozens have been arrested over the weeks, including some by federal officers, such as a man accused of hitting an officer with a hammer last week.
Chad Wolf, acting secretary of Homeland Security, got a tour in Portland last week and shared images of himself in front of graffitied walls.
The arrival of a federal presence came after President Donald Trump, who called on states to “dominate” violent protesters, directed federal agencies to increase their presence to protect federal properties, including statues and monuments that have been the target of vandals. Trump said last week that he had sent personnel to Portland because “the locals couldn’t handle it.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she believed the protests were starting to ease before the federal officers waded into the scene. She said she asked Wolf to keep the agents off the streets but he rejected the suggestion.
State and local leaders have opened new efforts to combat federal agents.
Rosenblum said her office was working with the Multnomah County district attorney, Rod Underhill, on a criminal investigation focused on the injury of a protester July 12.
The attorney general’s office also filed a lawsuit late Friday accusing federal officers of using unlawful tactics.
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon has also filed a court petition to curtail the federal officers’ actions, and the group said “many” more lawsuits will follow.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she believed the protests were starting to ease before the federal officers waded into the scene.