Gripped by violent protests for weeks, the Portland police quickly crushed protesters’ attempts to establish a self-contained Seattle-like zone by clearing barricades and closing a park in front of a court.
The Portland Police Bureau said in a press release Thursday morning that the city “has temporarily closed Chapman Square Park and Lownsdale Square Park.”
Protesters had set up the tents Tuesday night until early Wednesday morning in Lownsdale Park, across the street from the federal Pioneer Courthouse, which Homeland Security was protecting.
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At around 5 am Thursday, the Portland Police Office helped the City of Portland temporarily close the two parks, according to the press release. Portland police made public announcements that the parks were closed and gave people 10 minutes to leave. Around 5:10 am, the Portland police came in to make sure everyone received the message and moved out.
Police said “some arrests were made” but that the “streets around the parks remain open to traffic.” The parks will remain closed until lawns, restrooms, benches, and public works of art are repaired.
The office shared a live broadcast link that showed officers putting up a wire fence around the park on Thursday morning. Sleeping bags and other debris left by protesters were strewn across the grass inside.
An unofficial Twitter account attributed to a group of anti-capitalist and anti-fascist teens called the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front ordered people to occupy space in the self-proclaimed Chinook Autonomous Terrestrial Territory, or CLAT, in downtown Portland on Wednesday by the night until Thursday morning. .
“Support is needed to defend Riot Ribs and the Autonomous Territory in Lownsdale Sq.,” Said the account, which has more than 22,000 Twitter followers. “Solid numbers are needed at all hours of the day, especially from 12 am to 5 am”
The group instructed protesters to bring tents, tarps, sleeping bags, gas masks, respirators, helmets and barricades “and other shield tools to defend against the feds and the police.” He also said the protesters should refuse to answer any questions that the police ask.
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Speaking to Fox News Thursday morning, United States Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Mark Morgan made a distinction, explaining that those who wreaked havoc on the streets of Portland for six weeks in a row “are criminals, they are not protesters. “
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf released a timeline on Thursday detailing how officers’ personal information has been posted online in recent days and protesters have attacked law enforcement with hammers, lasers , slings and fireworks. Others have been armed with mallets, tasers, and “burning rubble.”
Meanwhile, a letter written by four Democratic members of the Oregon Congress, US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeffrey Merkley, and US Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer, said “this politically driven federal response is intolerable,” especially after a protester was hit in the head and hospitalized when a federal officer fired fewer deadly ammunition last weekend.
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The letter, addressed to Secretary Wolf and Attorney General Barr, said the “presence and lack of coordination of federal officials raises concerns about how those responsible for the illegal use of force will be held accountable. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler retweeted the letter on Wednesday and asked “the Trump Administration to be thorough and transparent with its findings.”
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
