Rioters Try Breaking Into Portland Police Association

Police detain passengers of a van linked to rioting, in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 11, 2020. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Rioters attempted on Wednesday evening to break into the Portland Police Association, law enforcement officials said.

A protest began near North Lombard Street and North Campbell at around 5:15 p.m., Portland Police said on Twitter. Participants then attempted to break down an entry door of the Portland Police Association.

“We are monitoring the situation,” Portland Police said at the time, urging rioters to disperse.

“To those participating in the protest, this direction is being given over loudspeaker: stay on the sidewalk, do not try to break into the building or violate any other laws,” officials warned. “If you do you’re subject to arrest and/or use of force including less lethal weapons.”

In an update two hours later, Portland Police said on Twitter that “all protesters” had left the neighborhood after causing “some vandalism to the building.”

Fifteen officers, three sergeants, and one lieutenant were pulled from patrol duties to protect the building, but ultimately no arrests were made, no force was used, and no one was injured, police said.

The Portland Police Bureau didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times for more clarification on the incident.

Oregon’s largest city has been rocked by civil unrest and violent acts since the summer months of last year, with a mix of protesters—including anarchists, Antifa, and other far-left groups, as well as civil rights activists—voicing various grievances and sometimes engaging in violence, damaging property, and clashing with police.

Last month, a crowd, mainly dressed in Antifa’s characteristic black, smashed windows and vandalized the offices of the state’s Democratic Party during rioting that took place just hours after the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

At least 150 people, some of whom were seen carrying the flag of the far-left, anarcho-communist group Antifa, gathered and participated in events “punctuated by violence and destruction,” according to the Portland Police Bureau.

Some spray-painted an anarchist symbol over the Democratic Party headquarters sign, according to footage posted on social media. Some applied graffiti, and later moved dumpsters in the street, lighting the contents of one on fire, police said in a statement.

Journalist Andy Ngo shared footage on Twitter of people attacking a Portland Police officer and flipping a car on its side.

Eight people were arrested in Portland on charges that include rioting and reckless burning. A spokeswoman from the bureau told The Epoch Times in January that police weren’t “aware of their links to any group or their motives.”