Alisa Dougherty, Feature Editor, contributed to this report.
A large crowd gathered in front of the Justice Center and Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland for the 55th day of nightly protests on Tuesday. The crowd was one of the largest seen in recent weeks and again came into conflict with federal agents who have been deployed to the city by President Trump.
A little before 9 p.m., moms in yellow and dads in orange gathered a few blocks away by the Willamette River. Many of these moms held sunflowers and many of the dads had leaf blowers to blow away tear gas. Before marching to the Justice Center, one of the moms reminded the group that their purpose was to de-escalate and be a “non-violent presence.”
After this, they began the march several blocks to the Justice Center. As they were marching they chanted “Take to the streets and defund/f*** the police, no justice, no peace” and “hey, hey, ho, ho, these racist cops have got to go.” They were greeted with cheers when they arrived at the rally.
With the addition of the moms and dads, the crowd spanned the two blocks in front of the center and courthouse. Within the crowd there were several people playing drums and many moms holding up yellow peace signs.
The moms formed a line, several people deep, in front of the Justice Center. They stood with their back facing the Center to show protestors that they were here to support them.
As the protest continued, people turned their flashlights and raised their phones, something which is becoming a new nightly tradition. As they did this the crowd began to chant “Black trans lives matter” and “Breonna Taylor.”
The crowd then spent time going through several different chants including “Black lives matter” and “Feds go home.”
Meanwhile, in Lownsdale Square, a large group of people had multiple tents set up. From these tents they gave out free food and clothes to both protestors and people experiencing homelessness. These people are in the park nightly, despite being repeatedly tear gassed.
As the night got later, small groups turned their attention towards the federal courthouse. One of these groups attempted to break into a side door of the courthouse, unsuccessfully.
More people moved over and began to pound on the courthouse walls. They used both tools, arms and legs to make noise. The larger crowd began to shift at this point over to the courthouse, where they clapped along as some continued to bang on the plywood.
A little before 11 p.m., the group of moms shifted over and created a wall facing the courthouse. As they did this they chanted a call and response of “ACAB” “All cops are bastards.”
A group of protestors then began to barricade the front doors to the courthouse, something they have done almost nightly recently. They created these barricades using wooden boards from an unknown location and sandbags. The larger group responded by chanting “Black lives matter.”
A little before 11:10 p.m., federal agents emerged from the back of the courthouse and formed a line. They then began to march up SW Main shooting tear gas canisters, crowd control munitions and stun grenades.
A standoff then formed at the intersection of 3rd and Main. Federal agents stood at one side of the intersection, while about half of the protestors had formed a line at the other. The protestors stood behind a wall of shields.
This was short-lived, as federal officers quickly began to fire tear gas, other chemical agents and crowd control munitions into the crowd. Instead of staying, the line of protestors marched around Chapman Square to join the other half of the crowd at 3rd and Madison.
A second standoff had formed there with officers who had come from the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building. This group of protestors was standing behind a line of parked cars. This made it difficult for the agents to target protestors.
Once the group that had marched around the square arrived, protestors began to move in towards the officers. Officers retreated back into the building.
At this point protestors seemed split on what to do next. They eventually seemed to reach the consensus that this encounter was a victory for them. They then began to chant “Black lives matter” and move back to the courthouse.
Back at the courthouse, protestors formed a barricade of umbrellas while several pounded on the walls of the courthouse and one even attempted to start a fire.Some protestors seemed to be trying to breach the door into the courthouse. There was also a large crowd gathered in the street chanting “Feds go home.”
Around 12:20 a.m., a handful of protestors began to try to light the plywood on the front of the stone courthouse on fire. A young man then stepped in and physically blocked the plywood. He told protestors to stop, and added that their behavior was unproductive and harmful to the movement.
Protestors continued to set off firecrackers and attempted to set small fires. Another small fire was lit in the portico. This prompted federal agents to throw some type of chemical agent from the peephole to clear the portico and then they ran out of the building with fire extinguishers. As they ran, they pushed several people to the ground.
Two simultaneous standoffs began, one right next to the courthouse, while the other was a block up. Lots of chemical agents were deployed, along with stun grenades and crowd control munitions.
As federal agents prepared to move back from the standoff at SW Salmon and SW 3rd, they began to fill the air with chemical agents, including tear gas. A protestor then threw a professional grade firework towards the federal agents. The agents responded by releasing more gas and returning back to the courthouse.
Around 1:30 a.m., after federal agents had gone back inside, protestors began to barricade the doors to the federal courthouse with plastic street barricades and fencing. This is a common tactic which has been used repeatedly by protestors.
A small group of protestors then broke through some of the plywood and exposed some of the glass beneath. They attempted to break this glass, largely unsuccessfully as the glass is bulletproof.
This prompt federal agents to come from the back of the courthouse to break up the crowd. Federal agents came up SW Main and began to fire crowd control munitions, tear gas and stun grenades as they reached SW 3rd.
When they arrived at the intersection, federal agents formed a line, behind the line was a federal vehicle with flashing lights. Someone within the vehicle repeated the announcement “This is the Federal Protective Service. This is an unlawful assembly. Leave now.” The use of a Long Range Acoustic Device to make announcements was a new strategy for the federal agents. So was the declaration of an unlawful assembly.
At this point most of the protestors were gathered with shields at the elk statue. They stood there chanting “This is not a riot, it’s a revolution” and “Feds go home.” A smaller group also gathered at Salmon and 4th, where officers shot pepper ball rounds at them repeatedly. Federal agents stood in a line in front of the courthouse and across Main.
At 2:30 a.m., federal agents began to shoot stun grenades, crowd control munitions and tear gas at the group by the elk statue. Federal agents then proceeded to bullrush them, moving aggressively up Main.
This pushed protestors back momentarily, however, they began to advance down Main towards agents who were standing in front of the courthouse. Protestors did this from behind a line of street barricades, fencing and homemade shields.
By 2:50 a.m., the federal agents had gone back into the courthouse after barricading the sections of the wall the protestors had previously broken through.
By 3 a.m., a little over 100 protestors remained, mostly gathered at the park. People remained for awhile, however the energy had died down and no more confrontations occurred.
