The Portland Police Association was set on fire as police declared a riot.<\/b>
\nTwitter
Portland Police Association on fire.
The Portland Police Association building was set on fire as unrest in that city continued to escalate, according to Portland police and a video posted on social media.
The blaze came as Portland and Oregon leaders heightened their rhetoric against President Donald Trump for deploying federal agents to the streets of that city. The Oregon Department of Justice is suing federal agencies alleging they\u2019re detaining people without probable cause.
Ppa is on fire. pic.twitter.com\/GPP1HdZmoc
Griffin \u2013 Live from the Justice Center (@GriffinMalone6) July 19, 2020
Portland police confirmed on Twitter that the fire was set at the PPA. \u201cPeople have broken into the Portland Police Association office and lit the building on fire\u2026 The fire in the PPA office is out. Portland Police are moving the rioting crowd to the East,\u201d police wrote.
PPA on fire. Riot declared. Sirens coming from the west. Crowd moving East. Hearing some kind of shots. pic.twitter.com\/mzn594pPBa
\u2014 Tuck Woodstock (@tuckwoodstock) July 19, 2020
Here\u2019s what you need to know:
Quite the video taken not long ago in Portland on the 51st night of protests. Meanwhile, at the PPA building (Portland Police Association), a fire was set inside that has since been put out https:\/\/t.co\/WSlpb56VD1
\u2014 Cole Miller (@ColeMillerTV) July 19, 2020
Portland police wrote on Twitter that they were declaring the situation a \u201criot\u201d on the evening of July 18, 2020. \u201cThis event has been declared a riot. Move to the east now. If you do not move to the east you will be subject to arrest or use of force to include crowd control munitions. Leave the area now,\u201d they wrote.
Police warned people not to breach the Police Association Building: \u201cThe area near the PPA Office is a residential area. We notice criminal activity occurring in this crowd. If you attempt to set fire to, breach, and enter the PPA office, you will be subject to arrest or use of force to include crowd control munitions. Move to the east now.\u201d
Police wrote that people were removing fencing at the federal courthouse, writing, \u201cA large crowd has gathered along SW 3rd Ave\/SW Main in downtown Portland. People are removing fencing and using it to barricade doors at the Justice Center and Federal Courthouse. Some others tried to pursuade (sic) them to stop but were shouted down.\u201d
They added, \u201cPeople lit the dumpsters in the street on fire.\u201d
Late in the evening, police warned, \u201cPeople gathering around North Precinct are interfering with the operations of a police facility. Vacate the precinct\u2019s parking lot and move back to NE MLK Blvd. Failure to follow this direction may subject you to arrest, citation, or use of force including crowd control munitions.\u201d
Authoritarian governments, not democratic republics, send unmarked authorities after protesters. These Trump\/Barr tactics designed to eliminate any accountability are absolutely unacceptable in America, and must end. pic.twitter.com\/PE4YfZ9Vqd
\u2014 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) July 16, 2020
The fire comes as tensions are escalating between federal and local authorities in Portland, Oregon, as viral videos appear to show federal police officers detaining protesters in unmarked vans.
Oregon\u2019s governor has criticized President Donald Trump for \u201cdeploying federal officers to patrol the streets of Portland,\u201d and Portland\u2019s mayor is decrying a \u201cheightened troop presence\u201d by federal officials in that city, calling it a \u201ccoordinated strategy from the White House.\u201d Those statements came after social and local news media reports claimed federal or \u201csecret\u201d police were arresting people on the streets of Portland, with viral videos showing officers in camouflage using unmarked vans.
On July 10, President Donald Trump confirmed he sent federal agents to Portland, saying he did so because the city was \u201cout of control,\u201d according to a White House transcript. Trump added, \u201cThe locals couldn\u2019t handle it, and you people are handling it very nicely \u2014 so nicely that the press doesn\u2019t want to write about it.\u201d
The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has come to Portland and released statements decrying \u201cviolent anarchists\u201d and a \u201cviolent mob\u201d and listing destruction in the city. \u201cIt\u2019s time that we take a stand. It\u2019s time that the local leaders here publicly condemn what the violent anarchists are doing and only then I think will local police and federal police get this out of control,\u201d he said in a statement.
Oregon Governor Kay Brown, a Democrat, wrote on July 16: \u201cThis political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety. The President is failing to lead this nation. Now he is deploying federal officers to patrol the streets of Portland in a blatant abuse of power by the federal government.\u201d
This political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety. The President is failing to lead this nation. Now he is deploying federal officers to patrol the streets of Portland in a blatant abuse of power by the federal government. https:\/\/t.co\/PdlZkmW0mQ
\u2014 Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) July 16, 2020
One video that has been viewed more than 4 million times was shared by Senator Jeff Merkley, who wrote, \u201cAuthoritarian governments, not democratic republics, send unmarked authorities after protesters. These Trump\/Barr tactics designed to eliminate any accountability are absolutely unacceptable in America, and must end.\u201d A man in the video accused federal officers of \u201ckidnapping people.\u201d
The senator also wrote, \u201cFederal forces shot an unarmed protester in the face. These shadowy forces have been escalating, not preventing, violence. If @DHS_Wolf is coming here to inflame the situation so @realDonaldTrump can look like a tough guy, he should turn around and leave our city now.\u201d
Another video circulating widely:
Federal agents in civilian vans. pic.twitter.com\/8l7nVfsxSE
\u2014 Cozca (@KohzKah) July 15, 2020
Mayor Ted Wheeler, also a Democrat, wrote on Twitter, \u201cA number of people have asked if I know DHS leadership is in town, and if I\u2019m going to meet with them. We\u2019re aware that they\u2019re here. We wish they weren\u2019t. We haven\u2019t been invited to meet with them, and if we were, we would decline.\u201d DHS stands for the Department of Homeland Security.
Stop what you’re doing. This is Portland tonight. These are MEDICS. We need answers, NOW. What the FUCK is going on in Portland? pic.twitter.com\/jO80Ymp2Sm
\u2014 ????????\u15f0\u15f4\u14aa\u13a5\u1515\u1515\u15e9???????? (@MeliMels99) July 17, 2020
Wheeler shared a tweet from a Time Magazine correspondent that said, \u201cWhite House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany just called Lori Lightfoot \u2018the derelict mayor of Chicago\u2019 and said she should request federal help to secure the city.\u201d
Wheeler wrote, \u201cThis is clearly a coordinated strategy from the White House. It is irresponsible and it is escalating an already tense situation. Remove your heightened troop presence now.\u201d<\/p>\n