PORTLAND, Ore. Federal authorities on Saturday forced protesters away from a plaza near a federal building because demonstrations in Portland by violent right-wing and left-wing protesters turned violent.
The area includes buildings and federal buildings and has been the site of several protests.
Department of Homeland Security officials moved through the plaza opposite an 18-story federal building. A federal courthouse is also located near that area.
The demonstration began around noon near the Multnomah County Justice Center in Oregon’s largest city, local media reported. Protesters threw rocks and other items at each other and got into fights. Streets were blocked in the middle of the mayhem.
Images showed that there were hundreds of people involved, many of them wearing helmets and wearing light shields. Some protesters were found to be using pepper spray during clashes, and at least one person pulled out a gun. No arrests were reported.
The Justice Center has in recent weeks been the target of left-wing Protestants who operate mostly at night, when they often come into clashes with police. Saturday afternoon’s demonstrations spread to other areas as crowds marched.
Right-wing groups had announced a rally near the Justice Center on Saturday afternoon that quickly drew protesters. The building contains a police station, a police headquarters, a county jail and courtrooms and is located next door to a federal courthouse that was searched weeks ago last month by left-wing protesters who clashed with federal agents sent to Portland for it. to protect.
The protesters at Saturday’s demonstration included the right-wing group Proud Boys and left-wing protest groups Democratic Socialists of America and Popular Mobilization, reported The Oregonian / OregonLive.
Portland police issued a warning about two hours after the demonstrations began that officers were ready to begin using weapons for crowd control if the violence did not end.
Violent demonstrations have gripped Portland for months, following the assassination of George Floyd in Minneapolis police.
The clashes on Saturday afternoon followed previous clashes between police and about 200 protesters from left outside another political area. President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday morning: “Another bad night of uprising in Portland, Oregon.”
Protesters hurled bottles and rocks at officers and pointed lasers at them, damaging police cars and causing minor injuries to several officers, Portland police said in a statement.
One protester received medical treatment at the scene after throwing rocks at officers and was shot with what police described as a ‘less-humid round of the sponge,’ the statement said.
He was arrested among nine people. Three were charged with assault on a police officer.
Many of the protesters wore helmets, eye protection, gas masks and body armor and some wore homemade wooden shields, police said.
A demonstration Friday that began Saturday morning came a day after Protesters in Portland clashed with federal agents outside a U.S. immigration and customs enforcement building.
People in a group of about 100 late Thursday and early in the morning spoke to the building with graffiti, threw rocks and bottles at agents and shone laser lights on them, Portland police said.
The agents removed smoke or tear gas and used ammunition for public control to disperse the public. Three people were arrested.
Also Friday, a number of federal buildings throughout the city were closed as the FBI investigated a car bomb threat.
