PORTLAND, Ore.—Twenty-one people were arrested or detained in Portland early Sunday after throwing fireworks and mortars as they clashed with police during the latest anti-police rally.
Police used tear gas and crowd control munitions to stymie rioters who broke windows at a federal courthouse and nearby businesses in a protest that lasted until 4:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release from Portland Police.
Eight more people were detained by officers with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Services. Those people are facing possible charges of damage to government property, assault on officers, and interfering with officers, the agency said in a news release.
One of the men arrested by the federal agents had a machete and a metal pipe, the agency said. Others threw bricks, rocks, bottles, fireworks, and paint-filled balloons at officers outside the federal courthouse in Portland.
Police declared the scene a “riot” and called the rioters’ behavior “unacceptable.” Several officers were injured when fireworks and mortars exploded near them, police said.
“Our community deserves better than nightly criminal activity that destroys the value and fabric of our community,” police said in the news release.
Protesters in the city had stayed mainly peaceful for weeks as they joined with thousands of others around the country following the death of a black man in Minnesota police custody. But recent violence by smaller groups is dividing the movement.
