Police in Portland, where peaceful protests took place this weekend after Trump-ordered federal agents retreated, declared an unlawful assembly early on Wednesday after a group of people tried to break into the city’s police union building.
KEY FACTS
Officers tweeted late on Tuesday that a group of people were engaged in “criminal activity” trying to break into the offices of the Portland Police Association.
Individuals warned that there would be arrests or use of force if they did not stop.
“We are aware of people who are in the process of breaking into the back door of the PPA building on North Lombard Street,” the force tweeted.
People gathering around the incident on North Lombard Street and North Campbell Avenue were later ordered to “disperse immediately,” after it was declared an unlawful assembly.
Officers later started to leave the area, and warned people who attempted to throw objects at officers would be subject to arrest.
Key background
The latest violence followed a weekend of peaceful protests in the Oregon city, after federal agents deployed by President Trump began leaving the city last Thursday in a phased withdrawal. The retreat followed an agreement struck between Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and the Trump administration, following weeks of rising tensions and violence between agents and protesters. The officers had been sent in by Trump at the start of July in a bid to quell sustained anti-racism protests in the city following the death of George Floyd, and to protect the federal courthouse, a flashpoint of protests.
But the move was strongly condemned by local officials, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who accused agents equipped in military-style gear of using excessive force and causing alarm by bundling arrested protesters into unmarked vehicles.
