Demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday vandalized the state Democratic Party headquarters and a federal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, according to police.
At least four demonstrations were planned in the city on Wednesday, Sgt. Kevin Allen, spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau said in a video statement early Thursday morning.
Two of them remained peaceful, but the others resulted in “property damage and arrests,” he said.
A group of about 150 people converged on the ICE building in the South Waterfront neighborhood Wednesday evening around 9 p.m., Allen said.
Some demonstrators were carrying pepper ball guns, fireworks, shields, rocks and “electronic control weapons similar to Tasers.”
In an updated statement Thursday morning, police said many in the crowd wore gas masks and helmets, and within a few minutes, people began tagging the ICE building with graffiti.
Federal officials declared it an unlawful assembly after demonstrators started throwing rocks and vandalizing the building, Allen said.
Federal law enforcement officers deployed “crowd control munitions,” Allen said, though he did not say what kind, deferring to federal officials. Portland Police did not deploy CS gas (commonly referred to as tear gas), Allen added.
CNN affiliate KOIN reported its journalists at the scene saw law enforcement use what appeared to be tear gas, along with stun grenades and pepper balls. Several people appeared to be taken into custody, according to KOIN.
Allen said that Portland Police were in the surrounding neighborhood and “some arrests were made.”
The city and the ICE building have been the sites of repeated clashes between protesters and federal authorities in recent months. Police did not characterize the makeup of the groups involved in Wednesday’s protests.
8 arrests made after vandalism at Democratic Party headquarters
The demonstration at the ICE building followed another earlier in the day, when a crowd of about 150 people gathered at Revolution Hall before marching to the Oregon state Democratic Party headquarters.
Officers on bicycles encountered the protesters in a parking lot at Revolution Hall, where “(d)ozens of people pressed in on the officers and then took one of the officers’ bicycles,” Portland Police said in a statement. More officers arrived to help and managed to get the bicycle back. The crowd blocked officers’ way as they tried to leave.
Police form a line in Portland, Oregon, during protests on Wednesday.
The group then left Revolution Hall and marched to the Democratic Party headquarters, where some demonstrators “smashed windows and vandalized the building,” Allen said.
At one point the crowd “showed aggression by swarming officers and throwing objects,” Allen said.
Footage from CNN affiliate KATU showed broken windows and an anarchy symbol spray-painted to the side of the front door, with a profane reference to newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden on the other side.
At least 8 people were arrested on various charges, including felony criminal mischief, possession of a destructive device and rioting, Allen said.
In a statement, the Democratic Party of Oregon said none of its staff were in the building at the time, but they were “frustrated and disappointed.”
“This is not the first time our building has been vandalized during the past year — none of the prior incidents have deterred us from our important work to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, and this one will be no different,” the statement said.
Federal courthouse in Seattle also damaged
Police in Seattle also reported vandalism to several buildings in its downtown area Wednesday night, including at a federal courthouse.
The Seattle Police Department shared photos on Twitter, saying “multiple windows” were shattered at the William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse, used primarily by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Other photos shared by police showed an Amazon Go store with anarchy symbols and anti-Biden and anti-police graffiti. Several windows were shattered. Other pictures showed broken glass at a Starbucks storefront.
Several arrests were made, police said, including some for property damage and assault. Another man was arrested in connection to a burglary investigation at the Starbucks.
