Another night of protests in Portland: Today's top takeaways - oregonlive.com
Further adventures at the "PEACEFUL PROTESTS"!!
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Portland protests continue for 72nd night
By Staff | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Protesters and police clashed again Friday night, hours after President Donald Trump focused on the nightly protests during a press conference covering a range of issues. Trump said Mayor Ted Wheeler had failed to lead through the protest movement, giving "anarchists" and "mobs" free rein in the city since federal officers stopped policing the downtown demonstrations last week.
"Mayor Wheeler has abdicated his duty and surrendered his city to the mob," the president said during the press conference at a New Jersey country club.
Wheeler, who also serves as Portland's police commissioner, has condemned the recent protests. The mayor's spokesperson said he had no response to the president.
Friday's escalation: As they have for several nights, a small group of protesters called for "direct action" on Friday and headed for police buildings on Portland's east side instead of downtown. Around 9:45 p.m., police declared the gathering unlawful and repeatedly warned people to leave. Instead, protesters threw eggs and rocks and - according to police - "explosive devices." Police responded with stun grenades, pepper spray, impact munitions and physical force to push the crowd of 300 away from the Penumbra Kelly Building on East Burnside Street that city and county law enforcement share.
Three Oregonian/OregonLive journalists on the scene observed some people throwing empty drink cans and water bottles at the buiding. They also saw two people throw eggs, then several more joined in. They also witnessed a person periodically point a green laser toward the building and officers atop it.
The backdrop: Protests in Portland began in late May following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. The aggression in Portland peaked in mid-July when federal officers regularly used large amounts of tear gas and less-lethal munitions against protesters, several of whom received serious injuries. Federal officers retreated from nightly protest policing after Gov. Kate Brown reached a deal with Vice President Mike Pence.
But a particularly tense standoff between Portland police and protesters took place on Wednesday night. Afterward, Wheeler called on non-violent protesters to avoid city gatherings where violence is likely to occur or intervene if they see destructive acts being initiated. He went on to say Thursday that city, county and state law enforcement agencies will "do whatever is necessary to safely hold these individuals accountable who are engaged in criminal activity and bring these nightly activities to a close."
Friday arrests: Police detained multiple people as they advanced through residential streets. Early in the night, police arrested a photojournalist and accused him of trespass. As of Saturday morning, police had yet to release a full accounting of the night's arrests.
Other gatherings: The overnight demonstration, which appeared to dissipate around 1:30 a.m., was the most high-profile on Friday night. But it was not the only protest -- people also gathered in downtown and police said they did not engage with that crowd.
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And there's the mistake Tex. The Oregonian may not have done it by mistake but other news organizations should know better. The moment anything is thrown from a crowd of "protesters" at the police, the "protesters" become rioters . Most of the media have done this, leading to charges in the media that "peaceful protestors" have been attacked by the police. The designation must be changed in the news media. Whenever a group starts committing riotous acts, they must be designated as rioters, so that they get no sympathy from the public for burning buildings, injuring people, looting or other unlawful acts.
Wait a second; this can't be right. We had it on good authority (elected officials in Oregon) that the presences of federal agents was the reason for the violence. They left so that the violence would end. What happened to that?