At least one person was injured by the firebombs, police said.
Portland:
Police arrested dozens of people and used tear gas against hundreds of protesters in Portland on Saturday night as the western US city marked the 100th day since the Black Lives Matter protests erupted against the racism and police brutality.
Police quickly declared the rally a “riot” after protesters threw Molotov cocktails at them, and they responded with a tear gas barrage to disperse the crowd.
At least one person was injured by the firebombs, police said.
Officers arrested dozens of protesters during a cat-and-mouse game in a residential area in east Portland.
“It was 100 day of the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland since the George Floyd murder and they wanted to stop us from walking,” said Jay, a 20-year-old protester, red-eyed from tear gas.
“It is our constitutional right to be here and to express ourselves.”
Police said people “engaged in tumultuous and violent behavior, intentionally or recklessly creating a serious risk of public alert.”
“It’s a riot. Police are making scatter announcements. People are throwing Molotov cocktails,” Portland police said on Twitter.
The nightly protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd while in custody in Minneapolis in May.
Floyd’s death sparked similar protests across the country, but it was in Portland – a city of 650,000 people over 70% white – that activists took to the streets virtually every night, demanding racial justice and police accountability.
President Donald Trump has called the city under siege by “thugs” engaged in “domestic terrorism”, although the protests have been mostly peaceful.
Tensions escalated again last weekend after a man identified as a supporter of a right-wing group was shot and killed.
– Memorial for shooting victim –
Earlier Saturday, hundreds of people gathered in a park near Portland at a memorial to Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a supporter of the far-right group Patriot Prayer.
The 39-year-old was fatally shot after joining pro-Trump supporters who descended on Portland, sparking clashes with Black Lives Matter counter-protesters.
Shooting suspect Michael Reinoehl, 48, was killed in neighboring Washington state as police attempted to arrest him.
The circumstances of Danielson’s death are still under investigation, but Reinoehl appeared to admit shooting him in an interview with Vice News.
“We are in the midst of a civil war between good and evil, good, good is all you see here,” said Dann, 50, who knew Danielson from Patriot Prayer, pointing to the families lined up. near an imposing barbecue among camping chairs and many American flags on display for the occasion.
“The evil is the liberals letting these cities be destroyed by Antifa, BLM, whoever you want to call them,” he said.
Aside from the tribute to the victim and the groups of men armed with assault rifles or pistols, the atmosphere in Vancouver Park, just north of Portland, was almost festive.
But Dann was sad about the preparations for the presidential election.
“The next two months are going to be terrible. There will be more violence. There will be more atrocities. There will be more insults,” he predicted.
Carrying a skateboard and a gun on his belt, Daparu De Crusha, 51, said BLM protesters were trying to destroy the American family.
The former reporter was convinced Danielson had not been killed by chance.
“I think it was orchestrated, it was a hunt,” he said. “There was going to be a human sacrifice that night and Jay Danielson was their victim,” he said.
After citing conspiracy theories on China and Bill Gates, De Crusha said that Trump’s victory or defeat on November 3 would not change the country’s problems.
“It’s not going to end with the election,” agreed Dann.
“The only thing that’s going to stop it is if we the people stand up for our rights and aren’t intimidated,” he said, wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap and sporting a tattoo. We the people “on his arm.
In his tribute to Danielson, Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, who denies advocating white supremacy, insisted he rejects hatred and violence.
“I don’t want to see anyone encourage acts of violence on Jay’s behalf,” he said.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
