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

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

DON'T MISS

Pro-Palestinian Protesters at USC Comply With Order to Leave

DON'T MISS

Israel Vows Military Operation ‘in the Very Near Future’ After Latest Hamas Attack

DON'T MISS

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

DON'T MISS

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

DON'T MISS

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

DON'T MISS

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

DON'T MISS

At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign

DON'T MISS

FUSD Trustees Name Misty Her as Interim Superintendent. National Search Yet to Start

UP NEXT

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

UP NEXT

US Airstrike Targeting Al-Qaida Leader in Syria Killed a Farmer, American Military Says

UP NEXT

Another State Department Official Resigns Over Biden’s Gaza Policy

UP NEXT

Senators Want Limits on Government’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology for Airport Screening

UP NEXT

Biden Says ‘Order Must Prevail’ on Campuses, but He Won’t Send National Guard

UP NEXT

Police Dismantle UCLA Tent Camp, Take Pro-Palestinian Protesters Into Custody

UP NEXT

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

UP NEXT

Trump Calls Judge ‘Crooked’ After Facing a Warning of Jail Time if He Violates a Trial Gag Order

UP NEXT

Biden’s Historic Marijuana Shift Is His Latest Election Year Move for Young Voters

UP NEXT

The Latest | In Israel, Blinken Pushes Hamas to Agree on Gaza Cease-Fire Deal

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

11 hours ago

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

1 day ago

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

1 day ago

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

1 day ago

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

1 day ago

At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign

1 day ago

FUSD Trustees Name Misty Her as Interim Superintendent. National Search Yet to Start

Local Education /

2 days ago

Gov. Newsom Appoints Judges for Fresno, Merced Counties

2 days ago

Assemblymember Soria Dodges Questions About Defamation Lawsuit

2 days ago

Israel Briefs US on Evacuation Plan for Palestinians Ahead of Planned Rafah Assault

2 days ago

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-ru...

7 hours ago

7 hours ago

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

7 hours ago

Pro-Palestinian Protesters at USC Comply With Order to Leave

Photo of Benjamin Netanyahu
7 hours ago

Israel Vows Military Operation ‘in the Very Near Future’ After Latest Hamas Attack

11 hours ago

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

1 day ago

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

1 day ago

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

1 day ago

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

1 day ago

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend