Portland played the New Year with a riot – as vandals wreak havoc across Oregon, throwing Molotov cocktails and attacking law enforcement with stones and bricks, police said.
The crowd gathered around 7:45 pm near Chapman Square in the city center, the heart of the protests that raged in the city throughout 2020.
Portland police said at least two Molotov cocktails were launched and commercial-grade fireworks were launched in the federal court and the Justice Center, which some protesters tried to break into.
The crowd also set off several fires and threw frozen stones, bricks and water bottles at police officers from the Federal Protection Services and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. Some were hit by balloons filled with paint, which, according to Portland police, may have been “mixed with a caustic substance that burned the skin.”
A riot was declared just before 11 pm and the police alerted protesters that, if they did not leave the area, they would be subject to arrest “and / or use of force, including, but not limited to, impact weapons and tear gas” .
The group also destroyed properties, including breaking a Starbucks window, KOIN reported.
The planned protest was classified as “in solidarity with BLM” with “no streamers, no megaphones, no masters”, according to online posts.
“New year, same goal,” said the post.
The loud protest started around 2 am only after the police used inert smoke and some impact ammunition.
Police said arrests were made, but the information was not immediately available.