Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Portland Protesters Set Fire to County Government Building
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
August 19, 2020

Share

PORTLAND, Ore. — Protesters in Portland broke out the windows of a county government building, sprayed lighter fluid inside and set a fire in a demonstration that started Tuesday night and ended Wednesday morning with clashes with police, officials said.

“This is the heart of our County, where people in our community come to get married, get their passports, and celebrate their cultural traditions and diversity.” — Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury

The fire at the Multnomah Building damaged the county government’s office of community involvement, where Oregon’s first gay marriage took place and where protective gear has been distributed to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, said Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury.

“This is the heart of our County, where people in our community come to get married, get their passports, and celebrate their cultural traditions and diversity,” she said in a statement.

Demonstrations that often turn violent have gripped Oregon’s biggest city for more than two months following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Participants have repeatedly broken into the offices of a police union headquarters building miles and last month clashed for weeks with federal agents dispatched to protect a U.S. courthouse targeted by protesters.

Portland officers late Tuesday declared a riot outside the county building after demonstrators among a crowd of about 200 started fires in dumpsters, used rocks to smash first floor windows and tossed burning material inside that set the fire that set off fire alarms and the building’s sprinkler system, police said in a statement early Wednesday.

The Fire Damaged the Lobby Where Oregon’s First Gay Marriage Happened in 2004

The riot declaration allows officers to use crowd control methods such as tear gas or flash bang devices. Police said in their statement that some unspecified “crowd control munitions” were used to disperse the crowd but that officers did not use tear gas.

Two protesters were arrested and one police officer suffered minor injuries in scuffles as police broke up the demonstration, the statement said.

The fire damaged the lobby where Oregon’s first gay marriage happened in 2004, Kafoury said.

She asked residents to support the community involvement office, adding that “there is grave injustice in our world and there is a violent and tragic history of oppression in our County. I am committed to transformational change.”

“In such a difficult, uncertain time, our community needs all of us to work together,” Kafoury added.

Police on Tuesday also identified a suspect accused of punching and kicking a man to the ground after he crashed his pickup truck on a sidewalk near ongoing demonstrations.

Authorities received Sunday night of protesters chasing a truck a few blocks from the downtown federal courthouse. The driver crashed and was then assaulted, authorities said.

Authorities are trying to track down the suspect, Marquise Love, 25, police said in a statement. The victim of the assault has been released from a hospital and is recovering.

A social media account apparently connected to Love has been disabled and efforts to locate him for comment were not immediately successful.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

The Lakers and LeBron Revel in What the Luka Trade Did for Their Title Hopes

DON'T MISS

Stephen Curry Scores 21 in Homecoming Game to Lift Warriors Past Hornets

DON'T MISS

Republicans Target 4 ‘Sanctuary’ Cities as Trump Pushes Mass Deportations

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Halt on Military Aid Will Hurt Ukraine’s Defenses. But It May Not Be Fatal

DON'T MISS

iHeartMedia Says Legal Dispute With Drake Was Settled Because It ‘Did Nothing Wrong’

DON'T MISS

Arab Leaders Gather to Endorse Counterproposal to Trump’s Gaza Plan

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Issac Raymond Lisaola

DON'T MISS

Zelenskyy Calls Oval Office Spat With Trump ‘Regrettable,’ Is Ready to Work for Peace

DON'T MISS

CHP Blames Drug Use, Speeding for Fiery Cybertruck Crash That Killed 3

DON'T MISS

LA Kings Apologize for Selling Scarves Made in Turkey on Armenian Night

UP NEXT

Mexican Cartel Leader AKA ‘Hummer’ Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Plans to Close Over 110 IRS Assistance Centers

UP NEXT

Joseph Wambaugh, Author With a Cop’s-Eye View, Is Dead at 88

UP NEXT

Californians Split on Trump, Newsom, and the State’s Future

UP NEXT

Plug-In Stove Could Be a Game Changer for Health and Climate

UP NEXT

Michelle Trachtenberg, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Harriet the Spy’ Star, Dies at at 39

UP NEXT

Washington Post Opinion Editor Exits as Bezos Steers Pages in New Direction

UP NEXT

Trump Wants to Sell ‘Gold Cards’ to Wealthy Immigrants for $5M

UP NEXT

Trump’s Deportation Rates Lower Than Biden’s, but Expected to Rise

UP NEXT

White House Says It ‘Will Decide’ Which News Outlets Cover Trump, Rotating Some Traditional Ones

Trump’s Halt on Military Aid Will Hurt Ukraine’s Defenses. But It May Not Be Fatal

2 hours ago

iHeartMedia Says Legal Dispute With Drake Was Settled Because It ‘Did Nothing Wrong’

2 hours ago

Arab Leaders Gather to Endorse Counterproposal to Trump’s Gaza Plan

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Issac Raymond Lisaola

2 hours ago

Zelenskyy Calls Oval Office Spat With Trump ‘Regrettable,’ Is Ready to Work for Peace

2 hours ago

CHP Blames Drug Use, Speeding for Fiery Cybertruck Crash That Killed 3

2 hours ago

LA Kings Apologize for Selling Scarves Made in Turkey on Armenian Night

2 hours ago

California Juvenile Detention Officers Staged ‘Gladiator Fights’ Between Youth, Indictment Says

3 hours ago

Wall Street’s Losing Streak Deepens as Trump’s Tariffs Kick In

3 hours ago

How to Watch the First Joint Address to Congress of Trump’s Second Term

3 hours ago

The Lakers and LeBron Revel in What the Luka Trade Did for Their Title Hopes

The game hasn’t gotten easy for the Los Angeles Lakers since the trade deadline. It just looks that way. Consider this moment from Sun...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

The Lakers and LeBron Revel in What the Luka Trade Did for Their Title Hopes

2 hours ago

Stephen Curry Scores 21 in Homecoming Game to Lift Warriors Past Hornets

2 hours ago

Republicans Target 4 ‘Sanctuary’ Cities as Trump Pushes Mass Deportations

2 hours ago

Trump’s Halt on Military Aid Will Hurt Ukraine’s Defenses. But It May Not Be Fatal

2 hours ago

iHeartMedia Says Legal Dispute With Drake Was Settled Because It ‘Did Nothing Wrong’

2 hours ago

Arab Leaders Gather to Endorse Counterproposal to Trump’s Gaza Plan

Issac Raymond Lisaola is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for March 4, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Issac Raymond Lisaola

Vice President JD Vance, center right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, as President Donald Trump, center, listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mystyslav Chernov)
2 hours ago

Zelenskyy Calls Oval Office Spat With Trump ‘Regrettable,’ Is Ready to Work for Peace

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend