More than 200 people on Monday night marched to the Pearl District condominium tower where Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler lives to demand his resignation.
The demonstration quickly turned destructive as some in the crowd lit a fire in the street, then placed a picnic table from a nearby business on top of the fire to feed the blaze. People shattered windows and broke into a ground-floor dental office, taking items including a chair, also added to the fire, and office supplies.
Shortly after 11 p.m., a bundle of newspapers was set ablaze and thrown into a ground-floor storefront in the residential building.
Around the same time, police arrived and warned over a loudspeaker that the gathering had been declared an unlawful assembly, then a riot. Officers ordered people to leave to the west.
The 16-story building contains 114 residences. The fire didn’t appear to spread and was quickly extinguished. Police used crowd-control munitions and released smoke into the air as they pushed the crowd west.
They ultimately arrested nearly 20 people. Police later said arson investigators were looking for the person who started the fire.
The demonstration came during the 96th consecutive night of protests since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, and it was days after a man associated with a conservative group was shot dead in downtown Portland during a car caravan in support of President Donald Trump.
PROTESTERS TARGET WHEELER: The night’s event started with a sardonically festive scene. Monday was Wheeler’s birthday, and some in the crowd wore party hats. Before the march began, a contingent sang “Happy tear gas to you” to the tune of the birthday song in a reference to his police bureau’s use of irritant gases to disperse protesters.
Left-wing activists have long expressed dissatisfaction over a perceived lack of action from Wheeler in enacting police reforms, as well as for his role as police commissioner in overseeing forceful responses to anti-police protests.
A group of leaders representing various progressive organizations from across the Portland area called for his resignation on Sunday, along with that of Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell. They said police failed to intervene early in Saturday’s demonstration prior to the shooting, even as officers have responded in large numbers most nights over the weeks of anti-police protests. (Wheeler, who is running for reelection in November, said later Sunday he has no plans to resign.)
Protesters have swarmed Wheeler’s building before. On Friday, a dozen people occupied the lobby for several hours. In June, protesters set up a short-lived “autonomous zone” outside, modeled on a similar occupation of a city street in Seattle. Police cleared the barricaded roadway the next morning.
ARRESTS: Police arrested 19 people during the demonstration — 10 fewer than the night before but still a high concentration of the over 200 people in attendance.
Eight of those arrested face an identical set of accusations: disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer. Some are accused of rioting, among other charges.
Two are accused of carrying concealed weapons, and one of those people is also accused of trying to assault an officer. Another two face first-degree criminal mischief allegations.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt has said his office won’t pursue demonstrators accused of interfering with police and disorderly conduct, among other charges, if the allegations don’t involve “deliberate’' property damage, theft or force against another person, or threats of force.
The office also won’t prosecute people on a riot accusation alone. Prosecutors will proceed with a riot case only if it includes an accompanying allegation of specific property damage or use of force, Schmidt said last month.
Police said some who were arrested in Monday’s demonstration had weapons including knives and at least one expandable baton.
POLICE ACTIONS: An OPB News reporter captured video of a police officer throwing a person to the ground then striking the person repeatedly before other officers caught up and took the person into custody.
Police detained several people who failed to disperse and couldn’t show they were members of the press. One person who regularly streams video from protests was arrested while filming.
Minutes later, the Portland Police Bureau tweeted a warning to journalists and legal observers not to interfere with police conduct.
SHOOTING INVESTIGATION CONTINUES: Sources familiar with the case but not authorized to speak told The Oregonian/OregonLive police are investigating Michael Forest Reinoehl in connection with the death of Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a supporter of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer. Danielson was shot in the chest and died soon after most cars in a caravan of backers of President Donald Trump drove through downtown and left. Police have not made an arrest.
Reinoehl attended Friday’s protest the night before outside the mayor’s home, photos by an Oregonian/OregonLive photographer show.
GOVERNOR’S REQUEST REBUFFED: Several local law enforcement agencies said they will deny Gov Kate Brown’s request to have outside agencies staff Portland protests, citing hostility and lack of public support for law enforcement.
The sheriffs of Clackamas and Washington counties released written statements on Monday afternoon saying they would not be sending deputies to Portland. A Gresham police spokesperson told The Oregonian/OregonLive via text message, “We are in agreement with the other agencies.”
FEDERAL RESPONSE: In two separate appearances Monday, President Donald Trump condemned political violence in Portland while refusing to denounce his supporters who have committed some of those violent acts.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf also responded Monday to a letter Wheeler previously penned to Trump, writing that the mayor’s “inaction has fostered an environment that has fueled senseless violence and destruction night after night.”
Wolf urged Wheeler “to prioritize public safety” and “request federal assistance to restore law and order in Portland.”
“We are standing by to support Portland,” Wolf wrote. “At the same time, President Trump has made it abundantly clear that there will come a point when state and local officials fail to protect its citizens from violence, the federal government will have no choice but to protect our American citizens.”
-- The Oregonian/OregonLive