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 4 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

Meux Home, Once Questioned by City Council, Now Honored

DON'T MISS

Kings County Sheriff Says Arrested Homicide/Kidnapping Suspect Had Fled to Mexico

DON'T MISS

Man Rescued After Falling 25 Feet Into Drainage Pipe in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Has Fresno Unified Finally Planted the Flag for an Academic Revolution?

DON'T MISS

Italy Blocks Access to Chinese AI Application DeepSeek to Protect Users’ Data

DON'T MISS

What’s In a School Name? Central Trustees Opt Not to Seek Communitywide Input This Time

DON'T MISS

Super Bowl 2025: Time, Channel, Halftime Show, How to Watch Chiefs vs. Eagles Livestream

DON'T MISS

Collision Between Helicopter and Jetliner Kills 67 in Nation’s Worst Air Disaster in a Generation

DON'T MISS

World Champion Russian Skaters on American Airlines Jet Built a New Life as Coaches in the US

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Confirms Two Flu Deaths While Nationwide Stats Rise

UP NEXT

Trump Set to Sign Order Deporting Pro-Palestinian Exchange Students

UP NEXT

Trump White House Rescinds Order Freezing Federal Grants After Widespread Confusion

UP NEXT

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration Freeze on Federal Grants and Loans

UP NEXT

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closer to Midnight Amid Global Threats

UP NEXT

CNN’s Jim Acosta, an Irritant to Trump, Says He’s Quitting

UP NEXT

Man Pardoned in Jan. 6 Riot Is Fatally Shot by Sheriff’s Deputy During Traffic Stop

UP NEXT

California Projected to Lose Congressional Seats While Texas, Florida Gain

UP NEXT

3.8 Magnitude Earthquake Felt in Boston and Maine

UP NEXT

Secret Service Agents Seeking Student Over Trump Video Blocked From School

UP NEXT

CNN Announces Layoffs as Part of a Further Shift to Digital Business

Has Fresno Unified Finally Planted the Flag for an Academic Revolution?

1 hour ago

Italy Blocks Access to Chinese AI Application DeepSeek to Protect Users’ Data

2 hours ago

What’s In a School Name? Central Trustees Opt Not to Seek Communitywide Input This Time

2 hours ago

Super Bowl 2025: Time, Channel, Halftime Show, How to Watch Chiefs vs. Eagles Livestream

2 hours ago

Collision Between Helicopter and Jetliner Kills 67 in Nation’s Worst Air Disaster in a Generation

3 hours ago

World Champion Russian Skaters on American Airlines Jet Built a New Life as Coaches in the US

3 hours ago

Fresno County Confirms Two Flu Deaths While Nationwide Stats Rise

3 hours ago

Kings County Children Found After Amber Alert Issued, Suspect in Custody

4 hours ago

Amazon Sues to Block Release of Trade Secrets to Washington Post

4 hours ago

President Trump Blames DEI and Biden for Crash Under Trump’s Watch

5 hours ago

Meux Home, Once Questioned by City Council, Now Honored

More than four years ago, the Fresno City Council considered changing the name of the city-owned Meux Home, because of Dr. Thomas Meux’...

5 minutes ago

5 minutes ago

Meux Home, Once Questioned by City Council, Now Honored

A 19-year-old Hanford resident is in stable condition after being shot in the Santa Rosa Rancheria early Thursday, and a juvenile male suspect, wanted for a prior homicide, was arrested with a loaded handgun. (Kings County SO)
32 minutes ago

Kings County Sheriff Says Arrested Homicide/Kidnapping Suspect Had Fled to Mexico

Fresno fire saves a man who fell down a 25 foot drainage pipe on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Fresno FD)
52 minutes ago

Man Rescued After Falling 25 Feet Into Drainage Pipe in Fresno

1 hour ago

Has Fresno Unified Finally Planted the Flag for an Academic Revolution?

2 hours ago

Italy Blocks Access to Chinese AI Application DeepSeek to Protect Users’ Data

2 hours ago

What’s In a School Name? Central Trustees Opt Not to Seek Communitywide Input This Time

2 hours ago

Super Bowl 2025: Time, Channel, Halftime Show, How to Watch Chiefs vs. Eagles Livestream

3 hours ago

Collision Between Helicopter and Jetliner Kills 67 in Nation’s Worst Air Disaster in a Generation

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

Search

Send this to a friend