Portland Mob Floods Residential Area, Threatens People in Their Own Homes
Civil unrest in Portland, Oregon, spilled into a residential neighborhood Saturday night, where rioters targeted people inside their own homes, according to a report.
While the city has experienced nightly protests and riots since May, when George Floyd died while in police custody after being detained in Minneapolis, most of the protests have remained contained to the city’s downtown area.
Journalist Andy Ngo reported that Saturday, a group of leftist activists targeted a residential neighborhood in the embattled city.
“‘We’re gonna burn your building down.’ ‘We know where you live,'” he tweeted, apparently quoting demonstrators in a video he shared on Twitter.
“As #antifa have taken to Portland residential areas to riot, they’ve also assaulted & intimidated residents there. Tonight, they threatened those who looked out the window,” Ngo added.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers might find offensive.
“We’re gonna burn your building down”
“We know where you live”
As #antifa have taken to Portland residential areas to riot, they’ve also assaulted & intimidated residents there. Tonight, they threatened those who looked out the window. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/1qiIOLk99j
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 9, 2020
Video of the incident shows a crowd of demonstrators apparently threatening people inside a multistory residential building as some residents looked out of windows and were stunned by flashlights.
One man off-camera on the video yelled about “capitalism,” while another man could be heard yelling, “We’re gonna burn your building down!”
The people in the video appeared to be sitting peacefully inside of their homes amid the chaotic situation.
Police in Portland later put out a news bulletin outlining the activities of Saturday’s demonstrations.
They began at Peninsula Park in the city’s Piedmont neighborhood, about four miles north of downtown.
While police described the group, which numbered in the hundreds, as “peaceful,” officers said the situation deteriorated as the activists marched west toward the Portland Police Association building near the park.
A riot was declared by police before midnight.
“By 10:30 p.m., the large group reached the PPA office. As the group approached, Portland Police began making public address announcements informing the crowd they were to not to engage in criminal activities,” the bulletin said.
“People within the crowd committed crimes when they erected a fence, pushed dumpsters into the street to block traffic, set a dumpster on fire, vandalized the PPA office with spray paint, and destroyed security cameras,” it said.
Journalist Shauna Sowersby shared video of the riot on Twitter:
Quite the fire going just down the street from the Portland Police Association. Overheard someone say, “Here we are 2020… here we are. End of the world.” Great start to the night. #PortlandProtests pic.twitter.com/OgEYKGgaGx
— Shauna Sowersby (@Shauna_Sowersby) August 9, 2020
Police also said rioters threw glass bottles and paint balloons at officers and assaulted them with laser pointers.
Three officers were injured, and two of them were treated and released by a local hospital.
The rioters also tore down a barricade protecting the police union building and set a fire inside.
Sowersby shared video of the fire reported inside the Portland Police Association building.
Fire inside the PPA, area has been declared a riot #PortlandProtests pic.twitter.com/HuV6LAouNL
— Shauna Sowersby (@Shauna_Sowersby) August 9, 2020
“Personnel from Portland Fire and Rescue were able to gain access to the location and extinguish the fire inside the PPA Office,” police said.
Nine arrests were made during the riot, which carried over into Sunday morning, police said.
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