A gathering of people in downtown Portland on New Year’s Eve quickly exploded into violence, with people throwing Molotov cocktail bombs and other projectiles at police officers, firing commercial-grade fireworks and setting off several fires, police said.
People began to gather near the federal court and the Portland Justice Center, the location or destination of most demonstrations against police violence throughout 2020, at approximately 7:45 pm, according to a Portland Police Bureau press release.
The violence prompted Portland police to declare a riot before midnight, according to a Portland police statement on Twitter. The police said that few people in the crowd followed orders to leave the area and some continued to throw “dangerous objects” at the police. The police did not use tear gas, but deployed “inert smoke” and some impact ammunition, according to the Portland Police Department.
Most people left at 2 am. Police said they had arrested an unspecified number of people related to the event.
People in the crowd launched commercial-grade aerial fireworks at the United States District Court and Justice Center and some tried unsuccessfully to invade the Justice Center, police said.
“Portland police officers across the city had to be prevented from answering emergency calls to answer,” according to the police press release.
Multnomah County sheriff’s deputies and Federal Protection Services officials also responded.
People in the crowd threw projectiles such as bricks, large stones and frozen water bottles at police officers, police said.
The crowd also threw “ink balloons that may have been mixed with a caustic substance as it caused skin burns,” said Portland police.
The vandals did significant damage to other buildings downtown, as a Portland Tribune reporter captured in photos posted on Twitter.
It was the second consecutive night of people damaging downtown businesses and government buildings. A small group of people also vandalized government buildings and at least one non-profit organization in the city center on December 30, reported The Oregonian / OregonLive.
The December 30 vandalism once again targeted the Oregon Historical Society, which was also vandalized during violent protests in October, when people stormed and stole a famous African American heritage bicentennial quilt.
– Hillary Borrud