On the evening of July 25, Portland’s 59th consecutive day of protests drew thousands to the Justice Center and Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse. These demonstrators took to the streets in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The crowd also gathered to protest federal officers and agents who are coming into conflict nightly with protestors and are using tear gas and other crowd control munitions on largely peaceful groups.
Justice Center/Federal Courthouse
At approximately 10:15 p.m., the crowd in front of the federal courthouse numbered about 2500 demonstrators. These demonstrators represented a wide cross section of the city from parents and grandparents to veterans to youth and more.
The reinforced fence around the federal courthouse was adorned with flowers. Protestors also put insulation foam on the fence at head level to block the line of sight of federal agents and impact munitions shot at head level.
At this time, the message “Fed Cops Out Of PDX” was projected onto the front of the Justice Center. Meanwhile, a photo of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor was also projected by protestors onto a building at the corner of Salmon and 3rd.
Near this intersection, protestors had formed a drum circle with more than half a dozen people playing. They used drums, buckets and the like to create percussion that would be the night’s soundtrack.
A little before 11 p.m., protestors began to bang on the fence and shoot fireworks towards the courthouse.
Ten minuted before 11 p.m., the Federal Protective Service, the police service of DHS, made an announcement telling protestors to leave the fence alone. Protestors responded by pounding on and shaking the fence. Soon after this, the portico lights went dark.
Around 11 p.m., federal agents then came out of the building, some wore military fatigues while others black uniforms. A few DHS agents in black carried riot shields, long wooden sticks measuring multiple feet long and canisters of mace or pepper spray. These tools are new for federal agents to carry within the fence.
As agents stood there, some protestors directed lasers at their eyes. DHS is reporting that several agents have ended up with eye injuries and temporary loss of vision from this practice. Protestors also threw things such as water bottles and trash over the fence at officers.
People yelled at officers to remember their oaths. They called on the officers to leave Portland and “go home.”
Agents pepper sprayed protestors through the fence, multiple times. This came without warning and without clear direction from officers. Officers aimed canisters right above head level and sprayed it fanning the crowd indiscriminately.
Then a little after 11:20, a few fireworks were thrown by protestors. The Federal Protective Services proceeded to declare the assembly to be unlawful.
Officers used gas–tear gas, pepper spray and smoke–in an attempt to disperse the crowd. They placed the canisters right inside the fence line and shot them into the crowd.
Throughout this, protestors defended their line with umbrellas and shields several feet back from the fence, while other people used leaf blowers to blow the chemical gas back towards federal agents.
The Oregonian/Oregonlive reports that during this time a photographer came out of the federal courthouse. The photographer proceeded to take photos of protestors lining the fence. This is not the first time federal agents have been seen taking photos and videos of protestors.
By 11:45 p.m., the federal agents returned inside. By the time they left, the ground inside the fence was littered with gas canisters that they had used against the protestors.
At this time, protestors began to shoot off more fireworks. They also pounded on the fence, however, they were unable to bend it because of further reinforcements. This inability to push the fence down prompted a protestor to attempt to cut through the fence with an angle grinder.
At around 12:05 a.m., another announcement was made telling protestors to not tamper with the fence. This announcement was largely drowned out by boos, fireworks and protestors shaking the fence.
A little before 12:15 a.m., a group of federal agents attempted to come out of the portico. They formed a line behind an agent holding a riot shield. This was met with booing from the crowd and lasers directed at them. The agents quickly retreated.
This whole time, the protestors lining the fence were holding umbrellas and shields to protect themselves from munitions. They also chanted periodically things such as “Black lives matter,” “Say his name, George Floyd,” “Say her name, Breonna Taylor” and “Feds go home.”
Protestors continued to set off fireworks and firecrackers. Many of them were aimed at the courthouse, however, some were also set off at the remnants of the elk statue around 1 a.m.
At this same time, a little after 1 a.m., protestors cut a hole in the side of the fence and several climbed through. Officers did not engage. Then protestors who had been working for a while to break the fence, proceeded to pull down the middle section. This was met with cheers from the crowd.
At approximately 1:10 a.m., federal agents came out of the courthouse. From behind the courthouse pillars, gas canisters were shot at the crowds, including OC gas [pepper spray] and CS gas [tear gas]. This was also met with more announcements from the Federal Protective Services declaring the assembly unlawful and ordering protestors to disperse.
At 1:22 a.m., a large number of federal agents came from the back of the federal courthouse and began marching west on Main Street shooting gas canisters of CS gas and pepper spray, stun grenades and pepper balls towards the crowd. The gas was so heavy that it filled both Lownsdale and Chapman Squares. A journalist was shot in the abdomen by a tear gas canister. As the crowd dispersed up Main Street and through the parks, people reminded one another to “Walk, not run,” while others chanted “Stay together, stay tight; we do this every night.”
At around the same time, Portland Police declared the assembly a riot and spent time driving around the downtown area giving use of force warnings. They also closed the area from 1st to Broadway and Columbia to Harvey Milk.
It was reported later that because the Portland Police Bureau is not allowed to communicate with the federal agencies clashing with Portland protestors, DHS and the Portland Police were unaware of the others’ orders and sent the crowd in different directions, sowing confusion.
By 1:50 a.m., there were large numbers of federal agents standing at every corner of Lownsdale Square. The protestors yelled at the agents asking them “What are you doing?” and telling them to “Go home.” Agents held crowd control munitions guns and assault rifles, but did not engage.
There was also a line of federal agents standing outside the fence and a line standing within. There were also two agents, one without riot gear, examining the broken fencing.
At this point, there was a group of people standing in the park facing officers. One Vietnam veteran walked up towards the federal agents and asked them if they remembered their oath. He talked about the “atrocities” U.S. forces committed in Vietnam and urged them to stop engaging with the crowds. A group of federal agents walked towards him as they returned to the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building and without warning, one of the agents in a black uniform pepper sprayed him in the eyes and face and yelled at him to “Move.”
A little while later the federal agents pushed their line in front of the federal courthouse forward, forcing protestors standing in the park up to 3rd.
By 2:20 a.m., Portland Police were also out in the street in an attempt to break up the protests. There were dozens of officers in riot gear and over a dozen vehicles in the general area. At one point, officers made an announcement ordering protestors in a parking garage to stop throwing things at officers as their faces are on CCTV footage, while making an arrest of a young white male across the street near the corner of 4th and Yamhill.
The heavy presence of Portland Police and federal agents scattered the crowd, however, more than 150 people gathered at the intersection of 4th and Taylor to regroup around 2:30.
At the same time, federal agents continued to stand in front of the courthouse, while another group of protestors talked to them. Volunteers went around picking trash off the ground in front of them, criticizing the agents for the amount of trash they were creating.
By 3:00 a.m., a standoff formed between agents and protestors on SW Salmon and 3rd. Protestors played the drums and chanted. They then began to push forward a little, at which point a group of federal agents pulled back and returned to the Edith Green Federal Building, without firing crowd control munitions.
By 3:30 a.m., the rest of the federal agents moved back and formed a line in front of the fallen fence around the federal courthouse. Protestors stood chanting in front of them, however the mood was non-confrontational and the crowd quickly began to dwindle.
