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

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

DON'T MISS

Biden’s IRS Doubled Audits on the Wealthy, Data Shows

DON'T MISS

Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill

DON'T MISS

New CA Bill Would Streamline Solar Conversion for Dry Farmland

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Rules Catholic Charity Exempt From State Unemployment Taxes

DON'T MISS

Alonso Muscles Up With 2 HRs, 5 RBIs as Mets Belt Dodgers

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Fermin Solorzano

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Rejects Mexico’s $10B Gun Lawsuit Against American Gun Manufacturers

DON'T MISS

Trump Says After Xi Call That US and China Will Resume Trade Talks

DON'T MISS

Procter & Gamble Slashes Workforce as Tariffs Drive Up Costs

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

UP NEXT

Trump Pardons Tax Cheat After Mother Attends $1 Million Dinner

UP NEXT

NPR Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order to Cut Funding

Supreme Court Rules Catholic Charity Exempt From State Unemployment Taxes

1 hour ago

Alonso Muscles Up With 2 HRs, 5 RBIs as Mets Belt Dodgers

1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Fermin Solorzano

1 hour ago

Supreme Court Rejects Mexico’s $10B Gun Lawsuit Against American Gun Manufacturers

1 hour ago

Trump Says After Xi Call That US and China Will Resume Trade Talks

1 hour ago

Procter & Gamble Slashes Workforce as Tariffs Drive Up Costs

1 hour ago

Giants Score 6 Runs! Ramos Delivers Key Double in Win Over Padres

1 hour ago

Israel Says It Has Recovered the Bodies of 2 Israeli-American Hostages From the Gaza Strip

1 hour ago

WorldPride Gathers in Washington as Trump Rolls Back LGBTQ+ Rights

2 hours ago

Trump Suspends Entry of International Students Studying at Harvard

2 hours ago

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

Clint Eastwood had a lot to say in the interview with Kurier, a small Austrian publication. Or did he? The truth seems to be somewhere in th...

1 second ago

1 second ago

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

8 minutes ago

Biden’s IRS Doubled Audits on the Wealthy, Data Shows

13 minutes ago

Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill

43 minutes ago

New CA Bill Would Streamline Solar Conversion for Dry Farmland

1 hour ago

Supreme Court Rules Catholic Charity Exempt From State Unemployment Taxes

1 hour ago

Alonso Muscles Up With 2 HRs, 5 RBIs as Mets Belt Dodgers

Fermin Solorzano is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for June 2, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Fermin Solorzano

1 hour ago

Supreme Court Rejects Mexico’s $10B Gun Lawsuit Against American Gun Manufacturers

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

Search

Send this to a friend