Portland Police Declare Unlawful Assembly after Attacks with Bottles, Lasers 'The next thing we need you to do is vote like your life depends on it...'
By Associate Editor
August 2, 2020
AP Photo: A Department of Homeland Security officer.
(Headline USA) The Portland Police Bureau declared an unlawful assembly Saturday night when people gathered outside a police precinct in Oregon’s largest city and threw bottles at officers.
Groups gathered Saturday evening in various areas around downtown Portland to listen to speakers and prepare to march to the Justice Center and Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse.
One of the more popular events, “Re-centering why we are here – BLM,” was hosted by the NAACP. Speakers included activists as well as Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty.
Merkley and Hardesty spoke about policies they are putting forward, including to cut police funding and restrict chokeholds.
“The next thing we need you to do is vote like your life depends on it, because guess what, it does,” Hardesty said.
As one group of protesters gathered outside the courthouse another marched to a precinct for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Portland Police Bureau.
Police stated that protesters threw glass bottles and directed lasers at officers. Just before 10 p.m., Portland police declared an unlawful assembly and told people to disperse or they may be subject to use of force or be arrested.
Police could be seen defending themselves from protesters in the area.
Police say a person in the crowd threw a glass jar or bottle filled with paint, striking an officer in the head.
Two people were arrested during the protest.
In a news release early Saturday, the Portland Police Bureau described Friday’s crowd as subdued and said there was no police interaction with protesters.
At one point during Friday’s protest, a firework was shot at the courthouse.
In the weeks past the action would be met with more fireworks or teargas canisters being dropped over the fence into the crowd.
Portland has seen more than two months of violent attacks from domestic terrorist groups, including Antifa and Black Lives Matter.
In early July, President Donald Trump sent more federal agents to the city to protect the federal courthouse, but local officials said their presence made things worse.