“The Hatfield Federal Courthouse has been a nightly target for vandalism during the nightly protests and riots, suffering extensive damage,” the office said in a press release on Friday.
The statement says the facility is protected by the US Marshals Service and officials from the US Federal Protection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and US Customs and Border Protection.
Five people were arrested during a protest that started on Monday night, seven people for the incidents on Tuesday night and six were detained in one that started on Wednesday.
Four people are accused of assaulting an officer. Another faces arson charge. Most are charged with noncompliance with a legal order, according to the United States Attorney’s office.
They all made their first appearance in court and were released, prosecutors said.
The CNN team in Portland on Wednesday night and Thursday morning recorded a large gathering of protesters in front of the federal court. Among a mostly peaceful group, some protesters fired fireworks at the building and started several fires outside.
Each major provocation was greeted with a show of force by federal agents inside the building, who then fired tear gas at the crowd.
CNN witnessed a noticeably more measured response from federal agents compared to the previous nights. Instead of lining up in formation to push protesters back several blocks, federal agents used mass-dispersing shells and tear gas long enough to extinguish the flames that had set in, before retreating back to the federal building.
Portland police said people threw flammable material and incendiary devices on a fence next to the courthouse, starting a large fire, while others broke the fence. Just after midnight, a person in the crowd threw a burning object into court, police said.
Shortly after 12:30 am, the Portland police declared riots due to “large group violent behavior” and told the group to leave. Most refused, police said, and over the next few hours, Molotov cocktails were thrown at the federal building along with hundreds of shells. At least one assault was reported, police said.
The group slowly dissipated in the next few hours, police said. Portland police said they made no arrests.
CNN’s Andy Rose and Josh Campbell contributed to this report.
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