Portland police declared a riot just before 11pm local time on New Year’s Eve after protesters smashed windows, opened fireworks and set themselves on fire near federal court, KOIN reported. subsidiary of CBS News.
Less than half an hour later, Portland police advanced on protesters, who responded by firing on them, KOIN said. National Security Department agents, who have been in the city for months to help police cope regular protests that have often turned violent, faced another group in the city.
KOIN said police used pepper spray or mace against protesters at the main site, near the federal courthouse building Mark O. Hatfield, and that pepper balls, rubber bullets, or some other less lethal ammunition.
Protesters gathered in downtown Portland near police headquarters in the early evening and then marched through the streets, breaking a Starbucks window before firing fireworks, spraying graffiti on several buildings and causing a couple of fires on the road or sidewalk.
KOIN said there was no clear approach to the rally, but site aviators said it was being held “In solidarity with BLM.” The demonstration was made known through posts on social media.
At one point, protesters aimed fireworks at the courthouse.
It came a day after nearly a dozen Portland businesses were vandalized downtown, KOIN cited Portland police, including Portland City Council, the Oregon Historical Society, TriMet and the Portland Police Bureau.
KOIN said no arrests had been made, but the investigation was ongoing.
Portland has been shaken by protests since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Under the orders of the Trump administration, federal agents deployed in Portland in July to quell the violence. After weeks of violent clashes that included the deployment of tear gas against protesters and dozens of arrests, federal agents began withdrawing in late July.
President Trump used the Portland protests as a rallying cry in his failed re-election candidacy, becoming a leader of “law and order” amid national unrest.