Portland police declared a riot on the anniversary of the death of George Floyd during a night when law enforcement made several arrests following windows being smashed and fires set as people marched through the city, according to authorities.
A crowd of around 200 people gathered outside the Multnomah County Justice Centre on Tuesday night.
Portland Police tweeted that the group was chanting “Burn the building down” and that a dumpster fire had been lit and pushed towards the building.
Alex Zielinski, of Portland’s Mercury News, tweeted that the crowd at times chanted “every city, every town, burn the precincts to the ground!” She added that a “vast majority of 100+ here are dressed in all black”.
When the crowd saw police officers look down on them from the roof of the justice centre, some of them said “f**k you, roof cops”.
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Law enforcement said they told the crowd that if they engaged in criminal activity and arson, they would be subject to “arrest and use of force”.
“This is now an unlawful assembly,” police wrote at 9:25pm local time. They went on to say that bottles of frozen water and eggs were being thrown at officers, adding that some in the crowd put metal spikes on the road.
Ms Zielinski wrote: “Several protesters throw water bottles at the police line. If history serves me right, that’s enough to get officers shooting impact munitions at people.”
Just before 10pm, police said the crowd had marched to City Hall and was breaking the windows, writing that they had told the group a riot had been declared at 9.57pm.
At 10.15pm, police said the crowd was “wandering around Downtown, blocking streets and breaking windows”.
Shortly after 11pm, police said “targeted arrests” had been made.
The Oregonian reported that marchers later broke the windows of Starbucks cafes, a jeweller, a credit union, and a steak house.
Another demonstration held earlier in the day included a rally at Revolution Hall in southeast Portland. The demonstration also featured a march and a silent sit-in on the Burnside Bridge.
The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25 May 2020 sparked racial justice protests across the country. Numerous outlets have reported that the demonstrations were the largest in US history.
The protests in Portland following the murder of Mr Floyd lasted more than 100 consecutive nights. Former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for murder on 20 April.
