As Department of Homeland Security agents continue to wield batons and tear gas against Portland protesters, frustration grows among protesters calling for nonviolent action and activists determined to expel federal officials by any means necessary.
Portland residents have been meeting every night since late May, after George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody, to demand criminal justice reform and greater control over his local police department.
Thousands of people descended on the city center on Tuesday night for another round of protests. They chanted “The feds are going home!” and “Black Lives Matter” for hours, as the “Wall of Moms” created a human shield against protesters.
But as sunset approached, some protesters argued among themselves about whether to attack the United States Palace of Justice Mark O. Hatfield, named after the former Republican senator and governor of Oregon, who was described by those who did. known as a pacifist, it was the best strategy.
“This is not peaceful,” Dan Thomas, a Portland resident, yelled over the loudspeaker. “This is a war against the federal government.”
Thomas, who attended all nightly protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, warned protesters not to attack federal property and to play with President Donald Trump’s narrative that protesters are destroying the city and using systemic injustices to commit crimes.
“This is what Trump wants,” he yelled. “Donald Trump wants to label Black Lives Matter as a terrorist organization.”
Thomas pleaded with protesters to change tactics and to concentrate on the neighboring Portland Police Office building, which also houses a local jail.
“You are not going to win against the feds,” he said. “You are wasting your time.”
The crowd was not listening. People screamed, blaming the federal presence in Portland for the ongoing riots and nightly mayhem. They shouted “There is no justice, there is no peace” and vowed not to leave until the federal forces left.
“I’ve been watching this all my life,” said Portland resident Katrina Kerley.
Kerley is one of dozens of mothers who recently joined protesters near federal court and neighboring Multnomah County Justice Center. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, with two teenage children, Kerley has lived in Portland for 17 years, but she remembers the history lessons she learned while growing up in the South.
By linking the arms with two other mothers, Kerley held up a large sign that read “Shield of the 1st Amendment.”
“Every person should be afraid of what is happening here,” he said of the federal response. “We cannot bear this.”
Crowds in Portland had shrunk in size in June, but repeated use of force by federal officials in July revitalized protesters and drew national attention. The city itself is divided on how to respond to the ongoing unrest.
On Saturday, Portland City Commissioner Jo Anne Hardesty wrote an open letter to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler requesting to take control of the police department after learning that local police were collaborating with federal forces to control the crowds.
“I demand action at this time,” he wrote in the letter. “Mayor Wheeler, if you can’t control the police, give me the Portland Police Office.”
Wheeler rejected the request and said in a statement that “it will continue to work with elected county and state leaders to ensure that we are examining the criminal justice system as a whole.”
Earlier this month, an Oregon federal court issued a temporary restraining order against the Portland police, limiting their use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray to instances in which public or police safety is in risk.
On Wednesday morning, US District Judge Michael W. Mossman heard oral arguments from State Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum, who is requesting a separate temporary restraining order against federal agents and relief against “police tactics of state rate. “
Rosenblum said the state was seeking “extraordinary relief” in “extraordinary circumstances” and argued that actions taken by federal forces violate protesters’ rights to freedom of expression and due process. Mossman is expected to issue a ruling later on Wednesday or Thursday.
Oregon Mayor and Governor Kate Brown have criticized the presence of national security agents and have repeatedly called on the government to withdraw its forces. Earlier in the week, Wheeler said Trump does not understand what is happening in Portland and called the administration’s tactics against protesters “abhorrent.”
“Your presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism,” he said. “And it is not helping the situation at all. They are not wanted here. We have not asked for them here. In fact, we want them to leave.”
The message has been largely ignored in Washington.
During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said that the deployment of US Customs and Border Protection agents and other federal forces in Portland was not an executive order from Trump. , but simply a routine. Monitoring the protests is part of your duties to protect federal property.
The president said more cities, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland, could see a similar app.
Federal agents in Portland emerge each night from behind a plywood barricade, shooting tear gas and shells at crowds outside. On Tuesday night, several women participating in the Wall of Mothers were caught in hand-to-hand combat and forced to withdraw. They coughed up the tear gas, swallowing water and opening their eyes.
Those who did not wear gas masks quickly dispersed, while women in protective gear remained defiant.
“They’ve gotten tougher,” said Jayla Lindseth, a Portland resident and member of the Mother’s Wall. “I have a broken pelvis, I was shot with pepper bullets. The cops know me from my face. They know what they are doing is too hard. “
Despite her injuries, Lindseth said she continues to participate in protests for her 3-year-old daughter.
“I want my daughter to know that she loves her skin,” Lindseth said. “We need to raise our children further, we don’t want them to worry about the color of their skin.”
Lindseth and others describe the protesters as largely peaceful, singing songs and singing in the park near federal and county courts. As the nights progress, small groups of protesters gather in the federal building. On Tuesday, several people attempted to light small fires outside and others were seen kicking down plywood barriers that protected the glass doors of the building. Across the street, at the police office, people kicked at the windows.
Portland resident Murphy Jones calls them “shakers.”
“They really are not part of the real movement,” he said. “They are part of the real problem.”
Like Thomas, Jones is concerned that too much attention is paid to these so-called agitators, compromising the message of justice and equality.
“People don’t come here and get the full story,” he said. “We are not out here mutinying and terrorizing Portland. We are here getting to know each other, forming a community. “
