The 61st night since George Floyd’s death was marked by clashes between police and protesters in Portland, Oregon, and Tempe, Arizona, while hundreds more gathered in Austin, Texas, for a vigil honoring a Black- Live with AK-47. Protester shot dead over the weekend.
Monday night in Portland began with speeches in Lownsdale Square, which is located across the street from where federal officials have been embedded to protect the United States Courthouse Mark O. Hatfield. Speakers called on protesters to leave the building only to bring about real change against racial injustice.
Myke Tavarres, a former NFL player who frequents protests in Portland, told the audience: “Burning that building doesn’t help blacks,” the Oregonian reported. But in another demonstration outside the Multnomah County Justice Center, Stand for Children organizer Elona Wilson seemed to encourage street protests to continue.
RIFLE AMMUNITION, MOLOTOV COCKTAILS FOUND BY PORTLAND POLICE RESPONDING TO THE SHOT
“This must be the last civil rights movement,” he told the crowd, adding that the boycotts of Montgomery buses lasted 381 days before the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was illegal.
A Portland federal courthouse fence was recently reinforced with concrete and federal agents used a loudspeaker to tell the crowd to leave him alone.
“This is the Federal Protection Service,” the announcement said, according to the newspaper. “Do not attempt to damage, remove, enter, or scale the fence around federal court. Failure to do so may result in the arrest or use of crowd control ammunition. “
The repeated announcements seemed to energize the crowd. Hundreds had gathered along SW Third Avenue outside the courthouse at 10:20 pm For nearly two hours, people threw stones, bottles, and other objects and launched fireworks over the fence and at the gate of the palace of Justice, the Portland Police Office said in a statement. . Many wore gas masks and helmets, carried signs, and were armed with hockey sticks, golf clubs, and umbrellas.
Federal officials left the building to put out fires and light tear gas canisters. Some protesters used leaf blowers to blow gas away from the crowd. People started a fire inside the fence and continually added wood, trash, and other debris to build it. After midnight, a person threw a Molotov cocktail at the court’s front door, “which exploded into a fireball when it hit the building, causing a report to be heard and felt more than a block away,” police said. .
As tensions continued to escalate, federal officials re-emerged from court firing riot ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades after declaring the meeting illegal, The Oregonian reported.
Protesters sit and kneel as tear gas fills the air during a Black Lives Matter protest at the United States Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse on Sunday, July 26, 2020, in Portland, Oregon (AP Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez)
AUSTIN RELEASE POLICE THE MAN WHO SAYS HE FOTALLY SHOT PROTESTER
Meanwhile, in Texas, protesters gathered outside Austin Police Headquarters on Monday night and marched toward the corner of Fourth Street and Congress Avenue, where they quietly knelt to honor Garrett Foster, reported the statesman.
Foster was carrying his AK-47 during a Black Lives Matter march on Saturday night when a motorist opened fire with his pistol from inside the car. Foster was shot and taken to the hospital, where he later died. Another person in the crowd used a pistol to shoot the vehicle as it took off.
The driver told police that the crowd of protesters surrounded his vehicle and hit him. He also claimed that Foster pointed his rifle at him, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Sunday. Other witnesses and protesters in the crowd that night maintain that they did not approach the vehicle and that Foster did not point his gun at the driver before he was shot. Some say the motorist drove his vehicle into the crowd threateningly. The investigation of the incident is ongoing.
Both the driver, whose name has not been revealed by the authorities, and the other person who shot his vehicle were detained for questioning and later released. Both have state-issued gun licenses. Texas is an open transport state for both pistols and long weapons, and protesters are often seen carrying firearms during protests.
Before being killed, Foster met freelance journalist Hiram Gilberto in the middle of the crowd.
“They don’t let us march on the streets anymore, so I was able to practice some of our rights,” Foster said in a live broadcast on social media. “If I use it against the police, I’m dead.”
CROWDS LAUNCHES FIREWORKS AT BREWERY, WEAPONS DRAGGING TO DRIVERS As riots spread from Portland to Oregon’s smallest city
Meanwhile, seven people were arrested Monday night in Tempe, Arizona, where protesters approached a police bicycle line and clashed with officers.
A protest began around 5 p.m. in Tempe Beach Park before crowds left the sidewalks and marched through street traffic to the bridge over Lake Tempe Town, the AZ family reported.
“Protesters / protesters continue to exercise their First Amendment right as they head east toward Scottsdale Rd. Participants will NOT be allowed to enter the road on Scottsdale Rd in any direction and MUST remain on the sidewalk,” Tempe police tweeted.
People cycled toward the officers and began throwing projectiles at them and shouting profanity, the newspaper reported. The police then used pepper spray to disperse a crowd blocking an intersection. An officer suffered a laceration to the face and required medical attention.
“It is unacceptable to throw projectiles at people: Police officers are people who are there to protect freedom of expression and provide public safety. When you throw objects at them, that is NOT okay,” Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir tweeted.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Officers were also seen boarding a man wearing a football helmet and carrying a skateboard. Other protesters held umbrellas to disguise their identity and block chemical agents.
