PORTLAND, Ore. -- Police say protesters broke into a building, set it on fire and started dumpster fires late Saturday in Oregon's largest city.
Cell signal shotty...riot declared about 40 minutes ago after several dumpsters were knocked over and two lit on fire...police dispersed crowd to the east pic.twitter.com/k9lPTIDv2R
— Danny Peterson (@DannyJPeterson) July 19, 2020
Portland police declared the protest a riot and were working to clear the downtown area.
Tear gas had been deployed. The fire at the Portland Police Association building was put out a short time later.
Smoke bomb going at the base of the courthouse building. #koin6news #PDX #protest #PNW #protesters #Oregon #rosecity #riot #police #Portland #OR pic.twitter.com/meriOrOijv
— Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingKoin6) July 19, 2020
Demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality have happened daily in Portland since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd on May 25.
President Donald Trump has decried the disorder, and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf blasted the protesters as “lawless anarchists.”
People continue to hammer at doors of federal courthouse.
— Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) July 19, 2020
This edifice was once mostly glass. It was bricked up weeks earlier pic.twitter.com/WNv1QhDADZ