«…causing damage and setting fire to the building.»
A riot was declared in Portland early Wednesday morning. It was the second since federal police agreed to leave the city. The target of the latest riot activity was the Portland Police Association office. Protesters broke in through the back door and tried to set the building on fire: A riot was declared in the early hours of Wednesday after demonstrators gathered across Portland on Tuesday and later marched to the Portland Police Association building where some set fires and barricaded public roadways for the 68th night of protests against systemic racism and police… Upon reaching their destination Tuesday night, some in the crowd proceeded to drag a dumpster into the street and light it on fire. Others set debris on fire and pushed it against the PPA building, only for some to dismantle the pile and extinguish the flames. Portland police did not engage the crowd but tweeted that there was “criminal activity” occurring in the area and asked peaceful protesters to leave… The riot was declared about an hour later once a group of protesters breached the PPA building, causing damage and setting fire to the building. The majority of the crowd had left the area by 3:30 a.m. The crowd marched to the PPA building and immediately started trying to figure out how to break in: Somebody asked if anyone had a crowbar (the entrance is boarded up). Crowd seemed momentarily unsure of what to do next, now chants have resumed. pic.twitter.com/SQe4YXs6SZ Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 5, 2020 Arson is the goal but I think this dumpster fire is a pretty good metaphor for these rioters: Dumpster on fire in the middle of the street.
