Police arrested eight people on Wednesday after the Democratic Party headquarters in Portland, Oregon, were vandalized hours after President Joe Biden took office.
The building’s doors and windows were broken, a small trash can was set on fire and graffiti written “Breonna Taylor deserves justice” and “F — Biden” was spread on the outside walls, according to videos filmed on the spot by mid-afternoon reporters. from NBC Portland affiliate KGW.
Portland police said part of the group of about 150 people carried weapons “including Molotov cocktails, knives, batons, chemical spray and a crowbar”.
Some members of the crowd gathered in southeastern Portland before heading to the Democratic Party offices dressed in black and carrying banners that read, “We don’t want Biden, we want revenge! For police murders, imperialist wars and fascist massacres” and “We are ungovernable, ” according to a photo published by The Oregonian.
The charges against the eight prisoners included criminal action, possession of a destructive device and riot, police sergeant. Kevin Allen said in a video statement on twitter.
Later, at least 150 people marched to the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, calling for the agency to be abolished.
A crowd clashed with federal police outside the building, throwing stones and eggs and vandalizing the building, Portland police added.
Federal officials declared an illegal assembly and used ammunition and tear gas to disperse the protesters, according to Devon Haskins of KGW, who was on the scene.
Scattered protests also took place in downtown Seattle, Washington, where several locations, including a Starbucks store and the William Kenzo Nakamura Court, were also vandalized, the Seattle Police Department reported.
Crowds marched towards the city’s Pike Place singing “Antifa!” and “No cops, no arrests, total abolition!”
Two people were arrested on charges of property damage and assault, respectively, Seattle police said.
