A large protest in Portland, Oregon on Sunday night started peacefully but escalated early Monday, leading to the use of tear gas by federal agents, following a recent pattern. Protesters have been raising their voices against police brutality and racial justice.
Previously, a bag containing magazines loaded with Molotov rifles and cocktails was found in a park near where protests have erupted for two months since George Floyd’s death, police said.
A photo of the items was shared in a police tweet Sunday night saying someone pointed the bag out to officers in Lownsdale Square Park on Sunday night. No further information was released immediately.
The discovery came just hours after two people were arrested following reports that a shot was fired in the same park. Officers responded just before 7:30 p.m. A person believed to have been the victim of the shooting later arrived at the hospital via a private vehicle with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
It was unclear if any of the incidents was related to the protests.
Portland has seen protests every night since Floyd was killed in Minneapolis in May. President Trump said he sent federal agents to Portland to stop the riots, but state and local authorities said they are making the situation worse.
CBS Portland affiliate KOIN-TV said protesters were facing triple-digit temperatures on Sunday, their highest level of the year.
KOIN said some protesters crowded around the fence surrounding the federal court in downtown Portland and fired fireworks. US agents deployed tear gas and sudden explosions and warned protesters to stay away from federal property. Then they declared an illegal assembly.
KOIN’s Hannah Ray Lambert tweeted a dramatic video of the scene:
Lambert kept a current account of events.
Just after 1 a.m., federal officials confronted protesters on the street and worked to clear the area. Several people were seen detained, but it was unclear how many were arrested. Police deployed more gas and less deadly ammunition, and formed a line to repel protesters. Many dispersed, but some protesters remained around 2 am
A similar scene played out the night before.
Authorities declared a riot early Sunday morning. Protesters violated a fence surrounding the courthouse building where US agents were stationed. Protesters remained on the streets after 2:30 am, forming lines through intersections and holding makeshift shields, while police patrolled and closed blocks adjacent to the area. Portland police said they arrested six people.
In the hours leading up to the riot declaration, thousands of people marched through parts of the city. Protesters stopped in front of a downtown hotel where federal agents are staying, chanting “The feds are going home” and shouting the names of blacks killed by police.
During Friday night protests, federal agents repeatedly fired tear gas to break up the rowdy protests that continued into the wee hours of Saturday. Authorities say six federal officials were injured and one person was arrested.
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