The Justice Department (DOJ) said Friday that 18 people face federal charges after several days of protests in Portland, Oregon.
The Justice Department said in court documents that the charges, stemming from protests at the United States Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, include assaulting a federal officer, creating riots, trespassing on federal property, failing to comply with a legal order, damaging government property, arson and more.
All defendants are believed to be local residents and between the ages of 18 and 45. They all made their first court appearances and were ordered released pending trial by jury or other follow-up court proceedings.
The charges come after several consecutive nights of protests that have rocked the city. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis in May after a white police officer pinned him by the neck for nearly nine minutes.
The Trump administration has taken a tough stance on the protests, sending federal police to quell the protests. Criticism of the White House response has increased in recent days as a video of officers dressed in military gear appeared, arresting protesters and driving them in unmarked cars, raising claims that the government was employing the “secret police”.
President Trump
Donald John Trump Pelosi says Trump’s decision to reverse the fair housing rule is a “betrayal of our nation’s founding values.” Trump says he would consider pardons for those involved in the Mueller investigation. Fauci says he and his family have experienced “serious threats” during the pandemic. MORE It has expanded its response to the protests, announcing this week that it will also send federal officials to Chicago and Albuquerque.
.
