Yet ANOTHER riot is declared in Portland on 83rd night of trouble: 200-strong mob of protesters 'rallying for BLM and the total abolition of prison system and police force' torch city's famous Multnomah Building
- A group of around 200 protesters marched to the city's Multnomah Building - the county seat of government
- There they smashed windows and sparked a blaze by pushing lit newspapers through the windows
- Portland police declared a riot at around 11:30 p.m., on the 83rd consecutive day of protests in the city
- The demonstration is said to have remained peaceful for more than an hour, but protesters started to set fire to dumpsters and broke windows, and after about an hour, small fires could be seen inside the building
- People were seen throwing stones through windows, followed by flaming materials, setting the office ablaze
- Two people were arrested; there were also reports of a stabbing and a shooting in the city overnight
Portland police declared yet another riot Tuesday night on the 83rd consecutive day of protests after a 200-strong mob of protesters torched the city's famous Multnomah Building.
The group had marched to the county seat of government for the first time, smashing windows and sparking a blaze by pushing lit newspapers through the windows. One image shows the protesters had marked a window to the building with the graffiti: 'Aim here.'
Demonstrations that often turn violent have racked Oregon's biggest city for more than two months following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Video taken Tuesday night shows protesters calling for 'no cops, no prisons, total abolition'.
According to Oregon Live, the demonstration remained peaceful for more than an hour, but protesters started to set fire to dumpsters and broke windows, and after about an hour, small fires could be seen inside the building. Police said lighter fluid was also sprayed inside the Multnomah.
People could be seen throwing stones through the windows, followed by flaming materials, setting the office ablaze. Some were carrying shields and wearing helmets and gas masks, according to law enforcement.
Police later tweeted to tell protesters the 'gathering had been declared a riot', ordering those there to disperse. There were also reports of a stabbing and a shooting in the city overnight.
Two people were arrested - 23-year-old Jesse Hawk and Peter Curtis, 40. Hawk was charged with riot, interfering with a peace officer, resisting arrest, unlawful use of a weapon, assaulting a public safety officer, harassment, disorderly conduct II, and attempted escape. Curtis was charged with attempt criminal mischief and reckless endangering.
A group of around 200 protesters marched to the city's Multnomah Building - the county seat of government - for the first time, smashing windows and sparking a blaze by pushing lit newspapers through the windows
Portland police declared a riot last night on the 83rd consecutive day of protests when a group of demonstrators set a government office building alight
Some smashed windows and threw lit debris through the windows, setting fire to parts of the building (pictured in a video from The Oregonian)
Deborah Kafoury, Multnomah County Chair said of the building: 'This is the heart of our County, where people in our community come to get married, get their passports, and celebrate their cultural traditions and diversity.' (pictured in a video from The Oregonian)
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Portland police announced on their Twitter page that the 'gathering outside the County Building at 501 SE Hawthorne has been declared a riot' at around 11:30 p.m. local time
Local reports say that a group gathered at around 8 p.m. PDT in Colonel Summers Park at Southeast 20th Avenue and Belmont Street, and at around 9 p.m., the group marched through the streets of Southwest Portland.
The march, which organizers described s a 'direct action march', eventually arrived at the Multnomah Building at Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and Grand Avenue.
At around 10.30 p.m., police - who had not been on the scene previously - moved into the area and declared a riot an hour later, and began pushing protesters away from the scene while asking them to disperse.
In a Tweet at 11:30 p.m., Portland Police said: 'The gathering outside the County Building at 501 SE Hawthorne has been declared a riot. Everyone must disperse to the north immediately.
'Failure to comply with this order may subject you to citation or arrest, and may subject you to the use of tear gas, crowd control munitions and or impact weapons.'
Protesters continued to move through the inner streets of the city for the next hour and a half, while being pushed north by groups of police.
One officer is said to have suffered a minor injury during the dispersal.
Videos of police appearing to use heavy-handed tactics were also shared on social media, with some showing groups of police outnumbering protesters, hitting them with batons and pushing them to the ground.
In a statement police said: 'Some crowd control munitions were used during dispersal. No CS gas was used.'
There was damage to a lobby where protective equipment against the spread of the coronavirus is distributed, she said.The building is used for marriages, among other services.
Deborah Kafoury, Multnomah County Chair, released a statement about the damage to the Multnomah Building, saying: 'This is the heart of our County, where people in our community come to get married, get their passports, and celebrate their cultural traditions and diversity.'
According to Oregon Live , the demonstration remained peaceful for more than an hour, but protesters started to set fire to dumpsters and broke windows, and after about an hour, small fires could be seen inside the building
Two people were arrested - 23-year-old Jesse Hawk and Peter Curtis, 40. Hawk was charged with riot, interfering with a peace officer, resisting arrest, unlawful use of a weapon, assaulting a public safety officer, harassment, disorderly conduct II, and attempt escape. Curtis was charged with attempt criminal mischief and reckless endangering
Several people in the crowd were seen carrying shields and wearing helmets and gas masks
The space is dedicated to community members 'marginalized by the traditional political process,' she said, noting 'The lobby where the first same-sex marriage in Oregon took place, and where millions of pieces of personal protective equipment are being distributed to help our community battle COVID-19, was damaged.'
'I acknowledge that there is grave injustice in our world and there is a violent and tragic history of oppression in our County,' she added. 'I am committed to transformational change.'
Police on Tuesday said they have identified a suspect accused of punching and kicking a man to the ground after he crashed his pickup truck on a sidewalk near ongoing demonstrations.
At around 10.30 p.m., police - who had not been on the scene previously - moved into the area and declared a riot an hour later, and began pushing protesters away from the scene while asking them to disperse
Local reports say that a group gathered at around 8 p.m. PDT in Colonel Summers Park at Southeast 20th Avenue and Belmont Street, and at around 9 p.m., the group marched through the streets of Southwest Portland
. The march, which organizers described s a 'direct action march', eventually arrived at the Multnomah Building at Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and Grand Avenue
There were also reports of a stabbing and a shooting in the city overnight
Authorities had received a report around 10:30 p.m. Sunday of protesters chasing a truck a few blocks from the downtown federal courthouse.
The driver crashed and was then assaulted, authorities said.
Authorities are trying to track down the suspect, Marquise Love, 25, police said in a statement.
The victim of the assault has been released from a hospital and is recovering.
A social media account apparently connected to Love has been disabled and efforts to locate him for comment were not immediately successful.
Demonstrations that often turn violent have racked Oregon's biggest city for more than two months following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
On Monday night, authorities said people marched to the police union building and tried to break into the facility.
No arrests were made during Monday night's protest and authorities said most of the crowd dispersed by early Tuesday morning.
PICTURED: Portland police identify suspect, 25, behind vicious attack on truck driver who was kicked unconscious on the street
The Portland Police Bureau is now on the hunt for 25-year-old Marquise Love, known by friends as 'Keese Love', for his apparent involvement in the vicious attack on Sunday
Portland Police have identified a suspect in a sickening attack on a truck driver over the weekend, who was seen in a viral video being knocked unconscious by a kick to the head from a protester while he was trying to stop a transgender woman from being robbed.
The Portland Police Bureau is now on the hunt for 25-year-old Marquise Love, known by friends as 'Keese Love', for his apparent involvement in the vicious attack on Sunday.
Police said the victim - who has since been identified by police as Adam Haner - was trying to help a transgender woman who had some of her belongings stolen at the scene.
'That person has not been contacted and their identity is unknown. Investigators would like to speak to this person,' police said in a statement Tuesday.
Police say they have left Love a number of messages, urging him to hand himself in, but have so far received no response. They say they have a probable cause for his arrest.
The incident took place shortly before 10:30pm Sunday, just blocks away from a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Oregon's capital outside of the federal courthouse.
Police received a 911 call from a bystander who reported that a group of protesters were 'chasing a white Ford' four-by-four truck, which then crashed into a tree in the downtown area, a press release says.
A rioter wearing a shirt with the word 'Security' on it, delivered a sickening kick to the man's head from behind as he sat facing the other way in Portland, Oregon on Sunday night. Police say that man is 'Keese' Love (shown right)
The man was rushed to hospital after being kicked. He has since been released and is recovering, police said
In the footage, demonstrators are seen hauling the man out from his truck and throwing him to the ground. The victim appeared dazed and was profusely bleeding from the head.
He was ordered to sit on the ground and told to 'wait for police to arrive.' The man, who some activists claimed had driven towards them, was then knocked clean unconscious by a vicious kick to the side of his head from behind.
As he lay unconscious on the ground, shouts of 'Black Lives Matter' were heard as other protesters attempted to provide first aid.
Others began ransacking the man's truck and when questioned by bystanders, they explained that they were simply 'checking for weapons.'
Police said they received another call estimating that around nine or 10 people were 'beating the guy' as he lay in the street.
A post allegedly uploaded to Love's Snapchat account the same evening appeared to reference the attack, in which he wrote: 'Might go to jail for a racist tonight when all i did was fight him look it up on twitter put money on my books and come see me.'
By the time police arrived on scene the suspect had disappeared and the victim was unconscious on the ground. He was taken to hospital but has since been released and is now recovering, police say.
In the fundraiser, set up by his brother Brian (left), Haner is said to have suffered a number of injuries, in addition to unspecified items being stolen from his truck
Drew Hernandez, who shot the graphic footage of the attack, shared the same theory as the police, claiming the victim was defending the transgender woman from being beaten and robbed by protesters, when the group turned their attention to the truck driver and his female companion.
Drew Hernandez, who filmed the incident on his cell phone, has spoken of his experience of being in Portland on Sunday night, saying 'sometimes it feels like you're walking in a Third World country'
The unnamed man then got into his truck and drove away as he and the woman became a target, but crashed in the pursuit, Hernandez said.
'I think he just felt extremely threatened,' Hernandez said in an interview. 'They chased him... until he finally crashed. When they finally caught up to him, they went nuts.
'This was violent, extremely violent,' he said. 'Sometimes I forget I'm walking the streets of an American city in the Northwest. Sometimes it feels like you're walking in a Third World county.'
Earlier footage shows the truck parked outside a 7-Eleven, with some rioters kicking it and attacking the man through the window, as others shout, 'He didn't do nothing.'
Hernandez said that after violence erupted on Sunday - which has become a nightly occurrence in the city - groups of protesters have attacked random bystanders.
'It's literally like just one thing after another,' he said. 'Just these random people, they start physically assaulting.'
Sgt. Kevin Allen, a police spokesman, said that the rioters 'were chasing the truck before it crashed, and they assaulted the driver after the crash.'
Allen said that officers 'encountered a hostile crowd and a squad from the Rapid Response Team responded to help secure the scene while the investigation was underway.'
Police said they have not yet been able to identify the transgender woman who may have been robbed.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Detective Brent Christensen at 503-823-2087 or at Brent.Christensen@portlandoregon.gov.
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