PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland police early Monday detailed another night of conflict between protesters and federal forces outside the U.S.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Protesters outside Portland’s U. S. courthouse set a fire in the building’s entryway early Monday in yet another night of conflict with federal agents who repeatedly tear gassed the demonstrators to drive them away, officials said.
Authorities over the weekend erected large fences around the building in an effort to keep away the protesters who have been on Portland’s streets daily since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly two months ago.
But video posted online showed protesters taking down the fencing and a statement from Portland’s city police department described the protesters’ tactics as they repeatedly headed toward the courthouse and were repelled by federal agents who emerged from inside.
Hundreds of protesters were at the scene Sunday night into early Monday morning and at one point “dozens of people with shields, helmets, gas masks, umbrellas, bats, and hockey sticks approached the doors” of the courthouse until federal officers came out and dispersed them, the Portland police statement said.
The protesters later lit a fire at about 1:30 a.m. Monday within the portico of the courthouse, said Portland police, who stressed that their officers were not involved in any crowd control measures, did not fire tear gas and “were not present during any of the activity described.
