National overview
Portland is ‘sick and tired’ of anarchist violence, destruction, officials say
Elected officials and community leaders in Portland, Ore., Banded together Monday to end violence, destruction and intimidation by left-wing anarchists who wreaked havoc in the city for nearly nine months amid ongoing protests against racism and police brutality. “The community is sick and tired of people committing criminal destruction and violence and doing so under the guise of a noble cause,” Mayor Ted Wheeler told the Associated Press during a news conference. While the city held a number of peaceful protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by Minneapolis police during his arrest in May, officials say small groups of anarchists continued to close businesses’ windows. to threaten residents and assault police. “The deceived and uneducated anarchists reject civilization and instead create deliberate chaos through criminal behavior that tears our city apart. It must stop, “said former state senator Avel Gordly. “I say to them today, ‘Stop not helping, you’re hurting black people,'” Gordly, the first black woman to be elected to the Oregon Senate, added. The Federal Court of Mark O. Hatfield has been home to clashes between rioters and police this past spring and violence has escalated again in recent weeks. Federal officers spent most of the summer outside the building, but were removed by order of local and government officials. Wheeler was forced to move out of his Portland apartment after rioters set fire to the building’s foyer during the summer. According to the Oregonian, the Department of Justice allegedly paid more than $ 1.5 million to repair the damage done to the courthouse. City police spent nearly $ 8 million on the riots and made more than 900 arrests during 120 consecutive days of unrest. “The people who work here support the voices of racial and social justice and will not be intimidated into doing our job by the ugly graffiti or broken windows,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the Oregon District. “We do not confuse the voices of the many with the cry of the few who hope to hold our city hostage through petty crime and violence.” Fences surrounding the building were removed last week, but were re-installed later Sunday after protesters set fires, smashed windows and spray-painted the federal courthouse. The fence went up towards the end of another devastating week for the city: rioters broke windows on Thursday and marked buildings in the city center with anti-government and anti-police sentiments. The next day, about 100 people paraded through the Pearl District, breaking windows and blocking the street. Officers use ‘kettle’ – the action to create a perimeter around protesters and detain people – while some rioters throw stones at officials. Police said they recovered items left behind by the group, including a crowbar, hammers, bar spray, weapon with stones, slingshot and knives. At least 13 people have been charged with crimes. “I want to make it clear that this was not a protest group,” said Chris Davis, assistant police chief in Portland. “It was a group of people who believe they have the right to damage the property of others, threaten members of the community and assault police officers.” Police said the rioters were the same group they had faced over the past nine months: the “self-described anarchist leftists” who mostly consist of young white men.