Protesters Mass in Front of Federal Buildings in Portland (+Video)

Portlanders first started protesting police violence against Black Americans in late May. It wasn’t until 31 days later that federal officers were first seen at the nightly demonstrations. In the weeks since, federal agents have used less-lethal munitions and gas on protesters numerous times, OregonLive reported.

Their actions have drawn scrutiny from Oregon officials and support from President Donald Trump and his administration. Trump again praised federal law enforcement Monday, saying they were doing a fantastic job in Portland. The president said he planned to replicate the response in other major US cities led by Democratic mayors.

Groups called the Wall of Moms and PDXDadPod say they will march around 9 p.m. Monday from the riverfront to the heart of nightly protests on Southwest Third Avenue, where two federal buildings sit on either side of the downtown jail.

The mothers’ group also attended Sunday night’s demonstration, linking arms and standing at the front of a crowd. Some on Twitter called for the dads to bring leaf blowers Monday in order to blow away tear gas federal officers have used often on protesters.

By 8:40 p.m., about 200 people had gathered for the march. Most were women wearing yellow shirts. One person held a sign that said, “Hey feds, you need to think about your sad choices — Mom.”

Even before the parents’ groups arrived, more than 300 people had already gathered near the downtown jail. Young Black community leaders used a megaphone to ask, “Whose lives matter?” Hundreds of people responded, “Black lives matter!”

The crowd roared when the parents’ march arrived just before 9 p.m. and joined the chant. By then, parents’ group had expanded to several hundred people.

The combined crowd numbered more than 1,000 people by 9:15 p.m. The crowds filled Southwest Third Avenue and the nearby park in front of the jail. Almost everyone wore masks. Some people stood on the steps of the jail and delivered speeches and rallied the crowd.

When one person asked how many mothers were in the crowd, several hundred people rose their hands.

Police stayed away from the crowd, which appeared to have grown beyond 2,000 people by 9:45 p.m. One speaker encouraged people to vote and told them how to register, drawing a wave of cheers. Another person explained how to react to tear gas and other uses of force, “Stay together. Stay tight. We do this every night.”

One person walked amid the crowd with a child’s pool full of hundreds of pig squeak toys. An older man used a projector to display “Fed Goons out of PDX” on the Justice Center. Just after 10 p.m., hundreds of people waved the lights on their phones as people sang, “We Shall Overcome.”

Some people milled past the federal courthouse next to the Justice Center, but by 10:15 p.m., nearly everyone remained gathered in city streets, parks or property.

Many people began to march west on Madison Street past City Hall around 10:20 p.m. A line of women from the Wall of Moms linked arms and walked at the front. As people marched, they chanted the names of Black Portlanders killed during interactions with police or under suspicious circumstances, including Jason Washington, who was shot and killed by Portland State police in 2018.

Hundreds of people remained near the Justice Center or in adjacent city parks.

The march eventually wrapped to a George Floyd memorial in front of a boarded-up Apple store next to the Pioneer Place mall. After a moment of silence and a brief series of speeches, people started to make their way back to the Justice Center.

Marchers returned around 11:15 p.m. More than 1,000 people remained downtown. A crowd began to grow outside the federal courthouse. The group of parents marched around the Justice Center, then returned to stand in front of it on Third Avenue.

Around 11:35 p.m., federal officers set off smoke devices near the courthouse toward protesters who were knocking on and pressing close to the building. Within minutes, hundreds of people had collected in front of the courthouse. Several women with the Wall of Moms made their way toward the front, where federal officers have often emerged to deploy tear gas or shoot less-lethal munitions toward protesters.

Together, people chanted, “Feds go home!” Some people pushed a few pieces of dismantled fencing next to the courthouse. By midnight, the front line of crowd was pressed directly against the building. A handful of people used their fists or other objects to knock on the plywood that covers the building’s doors and windows. Hundreds of people surrounded them.

The tension remained high at 12:20 a.m. Some people started to tear off the plywood and other materials nailed to the front of the building.

At 12:25 a.m., police threw out devices that emitted smoke and an orange substance into the air. Many people in the crowd started to walk or run away. Within three minutes, federal officers emerged from the building to force people away. Officers wearing camouflage and dark uniforms largely cleared the crowd away from the building within five minutes, and continued to shoot impact munitions toward demonstrators.

A second Black Lives Matter protest also took place Monday evening in Southeast Portland to honor Shai-India Harris, an 18-year-old who was shot and killed in the area July 10. Harris was shot and killed near Lents Park, where people planned to gather.

During prior nights, police have focused their attention most often on crowds gathered downtown. A largely peaceful demonstration downtown Sunday quickly turned as some in the crowd began tearing down a fence surrounding the federal courthouse and federal agents responded with tear gas.

A party-like atmosphere emerged outside the Multnomah County Justice Center, with drumming, chants and loud music.

Tensions increased as a smaller crowd gathered outside the federal courthouse. Just before 10 p.m., the Federal Protective Service, which provides security at federal government buildings, announced that people tampering with a fence erected around that building would be subject to arrest or use of force.

Shortly before midnight, some in the crowd knocked over the fence surrounding the federal courthouse. Federal officers deployed tear gas from the courthouse, scattering the protesters into nearby streets.

Just after 1:30 a.m. someone climbed the northwest corner of the downtown jail to allegedly tamper with a security camera, police said Monday morning.

Police said some protesters had lit a fire in front of the federal courthouse around the same time. Federal law enforcement moved in to break up the crowd within 15 minutes.