A group inflicted “wide spread destruction” to businesses in Portland, police in Oregon’s largest city said Saturday.
Two separate groups gathered in Portland on Friday night. One of several dozen, wearing all black, donning helmets, and carrying umbrellas—all hallmarks of the far-left Antifa network—walked to the Mexican consulate in the downtown area and vandalized the building, spray painting graffiti on the outside.
The group then went to the new Multnomah County Courthouse nearby and vandalized that.
“Officers responded to the scene and were able to interrupt the vandalism. Units remained at the location as high visibility. Because of the high visibility, the group dispersed from the area without creating any more damage. No arrests were made,” the Portland Police Bureau said in an incident summary.
Around the same time, a group of nearly 100 gathered in Northeast Portland. Members also wore all black and had masks and helmets on.
“A cleaning crew who was inside the bank was scared as the group began to break windows to the property,” police said. Another call came in from workers inside a grocery store in the vicinity. “The workers reported members of the group were shattering windows and spray painting the building,” according to the police.
When officers arrived in the area, they found businesses with shattered windows and spray paint. One business appeared to have been destroyed when rioters hurled a motorized scooter through the glass windows.
Photographs showed damaged buildings, along with pro-transgender and Antifa graffiti. According to one witness, the group was chanting “black lives matter” while marching.
Stickers handed out included one that showed a person in a Ku Klux Klan hanging from a tree. The outfit had emblazoned on it “PPB,” which stands for the Portland Police Bureau.
Twenty-four businesses were vandalized on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, police said. The damage was done in 10 minutes with officers tied up downtown, a videographer on the scene said in a tweet he later deleted.
The crimes weren’t recorded at the behest of organizers, the abolitionist collective Safe PDX said on Twitter.
“As officers arrived on scene, the group had dispersed on their own and no arrests were made,” the police bureau said.
A request for more information, including whether officers have any leads on the suspects, wasn’t immediately returned.
People with information were asked to report to Crime Stoppers of Oregon.
Friends Read Free