Portland DA declines to prosecute riot-related offenses
Reaction from Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall and 'Defender in Chief' author John Yoo.
Portland protesters and rioters returned to a federal courthouse late Wednesday into early Thursday morning, launching fireworks toward police, shining lasers into officers’ eyes and splashing at least one cop with paint, authorities said Thursday morning.
Several hundreds of people in the Oregon city gathered near the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, the neighboring Multnomah County Justice Center and a nearby police precinct station after nights of demonstrations elsewhere, including a different precinct and the offices of Portland Police Association.
The group set off commercial-grade fireworks in the direction of the fence protecting the courthouse shortly after 10:30 p.m. Police ordered them over the loudspeaker to “stop launching fireworks and starting fires,” according to a press release.
Instead, some members of the group allegedly responded by shining lasers into the faces of officers making the announcements. Others blocked traffic and started at least one small fire in front of a nearby precinct, authorities said.
Police declared an unlawful assembly shortly after 11:30 p.m., but the events continued to escalate.
“A large explosive and other fireworks were thrown towards officers, along with fist sized rocks, bottles, and cans of paint,” police said.
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Portland-based police officer splashed with paint (Portland Police Bureau)
By midnight, police reclassified the unlawful assembly as a riot, at which point the group allegedly moved back toward the area of the courthouse.
“They threw eggs and continued to launch commercial grade fireworks towards officers,” police said.
The crowd had dissipated by roughly 2:30 a.m. but not before someone vandalized a police car parked in the area.
Over the course of the night, officers used tear gas to break up the crowd. Several people were arrested and multiple police officers were hurt, including one who suffered a severe hand injury.
Black Lives Matter protesters march through Portland after rallying at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Aug. 2, 2020. (AP)
Protests have been held nightly in the city since the police killing of George Floyd in May, a Black man who died after a white officer pressed a knee to his neck for nearly nine minutes.
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The protests in Portland reached their apex last month outside the federal courthouse, with demonstrators clashing nightly with federal agents dispatched to the city to protect the courthouse.
The demonstrations dwindled after a drawdown of the agents, who were replaced by Oregon state troopers. But protests that turned violent reemerged over the last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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