The US Sun By Debbie White
COPS declared a riot in Portland on Saturday as Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters smashed shop windows in a march “against capitalism.”
Fired-up rioters lobbed projectiles at police and pepper-sprayed people passing by, police officers in the Oregon city said.
Shop, bank, and hotel windows were smashed during the riot in Portland
An 80-strong crowd marching from Irving Park at about 7.15pm towards the boulevard yelled, “No cops! No prisons! Total abolition!” according to The Oregonian.
The Halloween night march was advertised on posters exclaiming “Capitalism is scary.”
As the crowd swelled to about 100 people, some started smashing windows of buildings they were passing.
Those damaged included a Starbucks, a real estate agency, a bank, and two phone company shops, along with a hotel, the news outlet reported.
In downtown Vancouver, windows were smashed and flags were burnt
Law enforcement officers clear a street after an unlawful assembly declared in Vancouver, Washington
Glass was smashed during the night of protests
Clark County sheriff’s deputies disperse a crowd in VancouverMany protesters had donned paper masks of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, to mock him.
There have been calls for the city’s leader to quit since racial justice protests were launched in late May in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police.
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) warned those destroying property and hurting passers-by on Saturday night to stop immediately or they might be “tear-gassed.”
Cops converged on the area and yelled via loudspeaker: “This has been declared a riot.
“Members of this group have been observed damaging multiple businesses along NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
“All persons must immediately leave the area.
Tensions arose between Black Lives Matter protesters and far-right counter-protesters in Vancouver – hours before the Portland riot“Failure to adhere to this order may subject you to arrest, citation, or crowd control agents, including tear gas and/or impact weapons. Disperse immediately.”
The cops also apologized to “members of the Lloyd District and Irvington neighborhoods for the loud announcements.
Police in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot on Saturday night“However, the group marching on NE 11th Ave have broken windows at multiple businesses on NE MLK Jr. Blvd and the Lloyd District.
“Members of the group have also thrown projectiles at police and pepper sprayed community member bystanders.”
The city’s Lloyd District is a commercial neighborhood where Portland’s convention center is located.
Rioters – unable to reach the Lloyd Center Mall as cops blocked their way – ran off.
Police quickly had the area under control, with the department adding that, “by 8.30pm most of the rioters had gone and the riot declaration was rescinded.”
No arrests have been made, “but the acts of vandalism are under investigation and future arrests are possible,” the force warned.
The riot took place hours after a fiery demonstration in Vancouver, WashingtonThe riot took place amid unrest which erupted over the police killing of Kevin Peterson Jr, 21, near Portland.
American flags were torched as tensions arose between Black Lives Matter protesters and far-right counter-protesters as they demonstrated in on Saturday following the fatal police shooting.
Tensions boiled over into unrest late Friday following a vigil for Peterson.
Mourners had gathered in Hazel Dell, an unincorporated area of Vancouver, Washington, where family and friends say Peterson was shot on Thursday night.
Kevin Peterson Jr., 21, who was shot and killed by law enforcement in Clark County, Wash., on October 29Hundreds of people gathered for the vigil on Friday evening, with some holding signs that read, “Honk for Black lives. White silence is violence” and “Scream his name.”
Nearby, tensions flared between left- and right-wing protesters.
People gathered for Kevin Peterson Jr at a candlelight vigil in Vancouver
People light candles in honor of Peterson and other black lives lostVideo recorded by journalists in a parking lot showed two groups of people shouting at each other.
Also, armed demonstrators gathered near a building which, they told reporters, they were protecting.
Although the shooting is still under investigation, deputies approached Peterson believing he had been selling drugs in the parking lot of a suburban hotel.
The Southwest Washington Independent Investigative Response Team, investigating the shooting, said Peterson “produced” a gun before deputies fired on him.
However, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins said Peterson shot first at deputies earlier on Friday afternoon, with investigators saying they recovered a .40-caliber Glock gun near Peterson’s body.
