Anti-Racism Protests Continue in Portland for 46th Day (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Protests in downtown Portland, US state of Oregon, continued Sunday night, after the previous night’s confrontations between protesters and police turned violent and left one protester hospitalized.
Police officers fired tear gas and arrested protesters in Portland on Saturday after nearly 200 hundred people gathered outside the US District Courthouse in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Demonstrators could be seen regrouping after being dispersed by the officers, who then again used tear gas.
At least one person was taken to hospital after suffering a head injury from what was is believed to be a crowd control munition. He could be seen being carried away by demonstrators.
After six weeks of peaceful BLM demonstrations, Portland has witnessed the second consecutive night of clashes between police and BLM activists.
According to Oregon News, videos posted to social media appeared to show a police officer shoot a protester in the head outside of the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in downtown Portland on Saturday. The man, Donavan La Bella, 26, suffered skull fractures and required surgery Sunday, his mother said.
Groups on Twitter are calling for more protesters to gather Sunday night in response to La Bella’s injury. It would mark the 46th day of protests in response to the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
Confrontations Saturday night appeared to primarily involve federal police at the US courthouse, which has become a gathering point for protesters recently. President Donald Trump had ordered the federal officers to deploy at the Portland protests.
The increasing tensions at nightly protests have many local officials scrutinizing the recent appearance of federal officers.
Gov. Kate Brown said Trump’s deployment of federal officers to Portland “only serves to escalate tensions” and will continue to bring “unnecessary violence and confrontation.”
“The events of last night at the federal courthouse were the tragic and avoidable result of President Donald Trump, for weeks, continuing to push for force and violence in response to protests,” Brown said. “The cycle of violence must end.”
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in a statement Sunday said she condemns the federal troops’ presence and demanded they withdraw. She also urged Portland police to stop responding violently to protests before federal troops get involved.
“This reckless and aggressive behavior has now put someone in the hospital,” she writes. “This protester is still fighting for their life and I want to be clear: This should never have happened. If this continues a life will be taken and it won’t matter whether a federal officer or Portland Police officer did it — it won’t bring that person back.”