A black man wearing an American flag stood in front of Portland Federal Court on Saturday night, telling a crowd of protesters that “none of you represents the life of blacks” as they tore down a fence for the sixth consecutive week of night disturbances.
Jorge Ventura, a Daily Caller reporter, captured a video of the unidentified man sitting outside the court when protesters began removing the fence surrounding the already smashed and spray-painted building.
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The man, wearing a face mask and an American flag, can be heard telling protesters that he lives in Portland as they ask him to move so that he can occupy the courtroom steps. Ask protesters “why” they are tearing down the fence.
WARNING: THE VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
“If you defend justice, come here and stay with me, stay with me because I defend justice,” says the man in the video. “I’m not here to tear down this f —– fence, I’m not here to spray paint.”
“It is happening every day,” he continues. “If you don’t want to be gassed, stop! It has to stop!
As members of the crowd shout obscenities, the man says, “None of you represents the life of blacks.”
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Ventura recorded an additional video of protesters tearing down the fence and stacking it against the court. Others can be seen using fences and hammers to hit and damage the walls of the building.
Portland police said protesters used the fence to barricade doors at the Justice Center and the Federal Courthouse. Some in the crowd tried to persuade them to stop, but were yelled at, police said.
Protesters tore apart a police vehicle and set fire to a building overnight, police said Sunday.
(Portland Police Office)
Protesters lit other small trash cans and street fires, while a bonfire was lit at the base of the ruined Elk statue, police said. A police vehicle was also destroyed.
Police declared the incident a riot and began cleaning up the area after protesters broke into a Portland Police Association office building and started a fire inside.
“When the crowd dispersed, several people in the crowd were arrested and officers were able to extinguish the fire,” police said in a statement Sunday. “The Portland police did not use any CS gas.”
Tear gas was deployed, according to the images and video of the scene, but it was not necessarily CS gas.
Oregon’s largest city was in its second month of nighttime riots since George Floyd’s death on May 25 in police custody in Minneapolis.
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Businesses in downtown Portland suffered $ 23 million in damage and lost business amid chaos and violent protests, authorities said earlier this month.
During this time, violence in the city included protesters throwing bottles, metal fences, rocks, and balloons filled with paint at officers, injuring some, police said. A federal officer was also attacked with a hammer.
However, some officials have criticized the police for their response to the protests.
City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty accused the Portland Police Bureau over the weekend of collaborating with the Federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in what she described as “aggressive repression of peaceful protest.”
Lawyer Billy Williams and others expressed concern after videos on social media appeared to show unlabeled officers in unidentified vehicles suddenly grabbing protesters from the streets, without appearing to identify themselves or read suspects of their rights to Miranda.
On Friday, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued DHS and the US Marshals Service for the conduct of federal officials in the city.
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A Portland police statement said Saturday that city police support peaceful protests and that starting Saturday night DHS police would not work at the Portland Police Incident Command Center.
Fox Call’s Dom Callichio and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
