If that wasn’t drama enough, the Black Lives Matter protests also continued to see tense clashes between protesters and federal agents in cities from Portland and Seattle in Oregon to Oakland, California, with multiple arrests and injuries reported and a courtroom set ablaze at the last location.
Police said officers used non-lethal weapons in an attempt to disperse thousands of protesters in the late afternoon after protesters set fire to the construction site of a juvenile detention center and a King County court.
At 10 pm (5 am GMT), the police had “made 45 arrests in connection with today’s disturbances in the East Precinct,” Seattle police wrote in a Twitter post.
He said “21 officers suffered injuries after being struck by bricks, rock mortars / other explosives. Most officers were able to return to duty. One was treated in a hospital for a knee injury.”
However, it was not all tension. There were also some welcome notes of lightness on the streets.
Police had previously said they were working to ensure the city’s fire department access to the fire, which they said was started by a dozen people who were part of a large group of protesters.
Trump had said Thursday that he expanded the deployment of federal police in Seattle, enraging local officials and fueling anger among protesters.
“We saw what was happening in Portland and we wanted to make sure that our city stood in solidarity with other mothers,” said Lhorna Murray, who attended on behalf of the newly formed Wall of Moms Seattle, replicating a Portland tactic protests where mothers, dressed in yellow, they form a human wall between the protesters and the police.
The tactics of federal officials in Portland have sparked the ire of local leaders and Democrats in Congress, who say those officers are using excessive force and complain about the Trump administration’s overreaching.
US Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Brian Moran, said in a statement Friday that federal agents are stationed in Seattle to protect federal property and the work done on those buildings.
The Trump administration has also sent federal police to Chicago, Kansas City, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, over those mayors’ objections.
In California, protesters set fire to a court, damaged a police station and assaulted officers after a peaceful demonstration intensified, Oakland police said.
Protesters smashed windows, painted graffiti, fired fireworks and laser-targeted officers, the Oakland department said on Twitter. Several tweets called for peace and asked the organizers to “help us provide safe spaces and safe places for protesters.”
The protest began earlier Saturday night with groups including another “Mum’s Wall,” as protesters clashed with US agents deployed in that city to protect a federal court.
The Oakland protest started peacefully, but turned violent later in the evening. Police declared an “illegal assembly” around 11:30 pm (5.30 am GMT) and officers asked the crowd to disperse.
The fire broke out in the Alameda County Superior Court and was contained shortly thereafter, the media reported. Police said protesters at one point were “breaking windows and singing racial slurs to residents.” Photos tweeted by the department showed broken glass and splattered paint in a police building.
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