Holly MatkinPortland, OR – Rioters stormed the Portland Police Association (PPA) building and set it ablaze again on Tuesday night, according to police.
The mob of approximately 100 people is demanding the complete abolition of law enforcement in Portland, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
The crowd marched from Kenton Park to the PPA at approximately 9:40 p.m., blocking traffic and shooting fireworks into the air along the way, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said in a press release.
When the group arrived at the PPA, which is situated in a business and residential area, they promptly lit a garbage can on fire and placed it “directly next to the building,” according to police.
While officers were using the sound truck to order the rioters to “stop their criminal activity,” someone in the crowd sprayed an unidentified accelerant on the doors of the PPA building and set it ablaze, the PPB said.
“Incident command declared a riot due to the criminal activity and danger the fires were posing to the neighborhood,” the agency’s press release read.
Last summer in Portland there were over 100 days of consecutive protests for racial justice.
Tonight abolitionist protesters wrote Daunte Wright and ACAB on the Portland police association building and then sit it on fire pic.twitter.com/N4vxpn8GyR
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) April 14, 2021
Members of Portland Fire and Rescue doused the fires while police ordered rioters to get out of the roadway and to leave the area to the north.
Alma Raven-Guido was arrested on an arson charge as a result of the incident, according to the PPB.
Photos of the fire, charred entry, and @PDXFire personnel assisting in extinguishing the flames. pic.twitter.com/yLVDf55PhR
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) April 14, 2021
Portland: After #antifa set the @PortlandPolice union hall on fire overnight, they returned to the local @ICEgov & started more fires. Last weekend, they barricaded the front & set the building on fire. No one was arrested. #antifariots #BLM pic.twitter.com/XLtm5mRxeN
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 14, 2021
Rioters were also out in full force on Monday night, busting out the windows of the city-owned Penumbra Kelly building and painting graffiti on the outside of the property, the PPB said in another press release.
“Dozens of lower priority calls for police service waited…some for hours, as officers from across the city responded to restore order,” the PPB noted.
asmr pic.twitter.com/vLW9XXV2fO
— Alissa Azar (@AlissaAzar) April 14, 2021
About 200 rioters destroyed light figures outside the building and damaged police vehicles by throwing various objects and using “metal devices designed to puncture tires,” according to the department.
Protesters have just arrived in front of the Portland Police Association Building. Police have given their first warning via LRAD. Fireworks explode overhead. #PortlandProtest #PDXProtest #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/i5ueZhI0UG
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) April 14, 2021
Bottles, rocks, bricks, chunks of concrete, fireworks, and ball bearings fired from “wrist rockets” were all used to attack the officers, the PPB said.
Some members of the mob tried to force their way into the building through the front doors, according to police.
They completely blocked traffic in the area and set fire to the “east side of the building, adding wood and other flammable material to it,” the PPB said.
After a protest at the Portland Police Association, some protesters went to the ICE building to protest kids in cages. A dumpster fire was started in the driveway. #Portland #Protest #ICE pic.twitter.com/Cn75dS8Nbu
— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) April 14, 2021
Rioters also used an unknown accelerant in an attempt to set fire to a dumpster.
“There was no indication that anyone in the crowd attempted to stop the violence that led to the riot,” the PPB said. “Instead, most of those present actively participated or encouraged the criminal activity.”
I almost get shot by DHS agents. The man beside me gets the brunt of it. The projectiles are pepper balls. #DHS #PortlandPolice #DaunteWright #PortlandProtest #PortlandProtests #Antifa #BLM #Riot #GeorgeFloyd #PDXprotests pic.twitter.com/7zmpmpZsvf
— Tony Mors (@guitarman7143) April 14, 2021
Police used pepper spray, impact munitions, and other less-lethal weapons to disperse the mob, but did not deploy any tear gas, according to the press release.
Fire started in front of ICE Center. #PortlandProtest #PortlandProtests #DaunteWright pic.twitter.com/KlsRuQJ1WX
— Tony Mors (@guitarman7143) April 14, 2021
Meanwhile, another group of suspects cut through a chain link fence on North Philadelphia Avenue to gain access to a parking lot where the PPB vehicles are kept, the department said in another press release.
After breaching the fence, the suspects “broke out windows, slashed tires, and broke windows of several police vehicles,” according to police.
They fled the scene before officers arrived.
The department said it did not make any arrests on Monday night, but that rioters could be arrested in the future as the investigation into the attacks continue.
Sandy Malone