On Wednesday, July 22, more than two thousand people gathered at Portland’s Justice Center and the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse for the 56th consecutive day of protests. This day was marked by the appearance of Mayor Ted Wheeler, who has received heavy criticism from the community over his handling of the protests so far.
Wheeler’s appearance was met by chants of “F*** Ted Wheeler,” as well as, calls for his resignation. At 10:20 p.m., someone even projected a list of demands directed at Wheeler onto the front of the Justice Center. The demands include freeing all protestors from jail, getting feds out of Portland and him resigning.
Wheeler has been a target of criticism for protestors recently. The main reason for this is that he is the police commissioner and the Portland Police Bureau [PPB] has spent weeks in conflict with Black Lives Matter protesters. PPB has tear gassed, shot crowd control munitions and arrested protestors since the beginning of theBlack Lives Matter protests 56 days prior. Wheeler’s failure to stop these nightly confrontations, often resulting in the use of crowd control weapons, has made him widely unpopular with the protestors.
Starting at 9 p.m., Wheeler spoke briefly on the steps of the Justice Center about the need to get federal officers out of the city, however, his words were largely drowned out by the crowd. Wheeler then stayed at the protest for hours answering questions from the crowd.
Wheeler remained at the fence line and was there when federal agents began to tear gas the crowd. Video of him being tear gassed has gone viral with people across the nation praising his actions, but many in Portland calling it a PR stunt and considering it to be too little too late.
Several community members also took to the microphone. They talked about the need to end the presence of federal agents in Portland and stop the use of various crowd control agents, like tear gas.
There was also chanting and music. Several protestors had drums and were playing along in rhythm to the chants.
Around 10:35 p.m., the crowd had shifted to the front of the federal courthouse. There, the reinforced, 10-foot-tall fence had been replaced. This came after two nights without the fencing, after the fence had been dismantled by protestors and used as barricades both times it was up.
The fence was notably more reinforced with cement barricades holding the bottom panels to the ground and more metal pieces connecting the panels. There were also two new doorways, one on each end, which were easy to open.
At this point, protestors began to shoot fireworks, mainly roman candles, over the fence at the federal courthouse. This prompted an auditory announcement from the Federal Protective Service, the Department of Homeland Security’s police force. The announcement told protestors to not attempt to climb or destroy the fence.
Several announcements were made. Each one was met by the yelling of “F*** you,” boos and the shaking of the fence.
A little before 10:50 p.m., a small trash fire was started on the inside of the fence. Strong gusts of wind made the fire repeatedly grow and shrink rapidly.
Several protestors scaled the fence and went through the doorway to stand around the fire. Occasionally someone would throw something over the fence and they would add it to the burning pile. The fire continued to grow. At the same time, protestors continued to throw fireworks over the fence.
At around 11:20, federal agents came out of the federal courthouse. They began to shoot crowd control munitions at the crowd through the fence. Protesters responded by shooting more fireworks off towards them. This led to officers deploying tear gas and returning into the building.
The tear gas did not move people from the fence and they stayed pounding on the metal and chanting. The federal agents continued to make announcements and the doors into the courthouse remained open.
At around 11:45 p.m., federal agents again ran out yelling and firing crowd control munitions at the crowd gathered by the fence. Most of the group moved back, but a core group remained at the fenceline, despite the tear gas. Federal agents quickly returned back into the courthouse, but not before filling the air around the courthouse with tear gas and other chemical agents.
The next 45 minutes were spent with protestors shaking the fence, climbing it and shooting off fireworks. Federal agents continued to make announcements and would periodically shoot tear gas and other chemical agents at protestors, sometimes sending them over the fence into the crowd. Federal agents mainly stayed within the walls of the courthouse, deploying canisters of chemical agents from peepholes and open doors.
The periodic tear gassing did not deter the crowd. Their canisters were rendered largely ineffective by the wind and dads with leaf blowers. Some protestors even picked them up and threw them back at officers. They did this as they chanted “No good cops in a racist system.”
At 12:30 a.m., PPB declared the protest a riot. They ordered people to disperse immediately to the north or west. If they did not they would be subject to arrest, citation and riot control agents. PPB also announced that SW 1st Ave to SW Broadway from SW Columbia to SW Harvey Milk was closed.
Over the next hour and a half, PPB made over a dozen “tear gas warning[s].” They were also seen driving through the streets in riot gear, however, Portland Police did not engage with the crowd at all Wednesday night.
Federal agents continued to engage with the crowds, using tear gas and other chemical agents. Protestors continued to respond with by throwing fireworks, water bottles and the tear gas canisters the federal agents had just deployed into the crowd.
Federal agents also ran out of the courthouse on at least one occasion and grabbed someone within the fence, taking them into custody for trespassing.
By 2 a.m. the crowd was split. Many protestors were hanging out on SW Salmon. There was someone fire dancing and drums were being played. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was still gathered at the fence. These protestors shouted many expletives at the officers in the courthouse, including “f*** you,” “f*** the feds” and “ACAB, all cops are bastards.”
By 2:40, approximately 250 people remained at the courthouse, however, the energy had died down and the protest was winding down.
