‘Lawless rioters’ in Portland throw rocks and concrete at cops in 72nd straight night of chaos
THE 72nd straight night of protests descended into violence once again, as Portland police officers said rioters attacked them with rocks and chunks of concrete.
Officers said that some of the protesters on Friday were attempting to blind officers by shining lights in their eyes, a day after the department declared a protest an “unlawful assembly.”
The Portland Police Department said that “commercial grade fireworks, concrete, rocks, [and] eggs” were launched at cops during the protest, per a new release from the agency.
The department shared a photo of three nails stuck on a police vehicle tire.
Police apologized to local residents for the disruption and noise, as officers used a sound truck to blast warning to protesters to leave the scene.
“The sound truck is issuing warnings and directions to those participating in the unlawful assembly to disperse,” the tweet read.
“We have to keep our distance to avoid the items being used as weapons against us.”
The unrest came hours after President Donald Trump told supporters at a New Jersey fundraiser that the city of Portland had been taken over by a “mob” of “anarchists.”
“The officers, they single handedly saved the federal court house in Portland from lawless rioters and agitators and anarchists, that’s what they are,” Trump said.
On Thursday, the department was forced to declare a supposed protest an “unlawful assembly,” claiming the intent of rioters was to “vandalize or attempt to burn down the precinct.”
The same night, the department tweeted out a photo of an elderly woman whom the rioters doused in white paint and harassed another woman who was using a walker.
Journalist Andy Ngo tweeted a video of the incident, writing: “An older woman tried to stop antifa rioters from continuing their attack on the Portland Police east precinct tonight.
She stood in the front and they dumped some white liquid all over her & curse her out.”
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The chaos between protesters and police continues even after Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced that federal agents will begin to exit Portland on July 30.
The federal agents were sent to Portland at the start of July by the Department of Justice as part of Operation Legend, which is described as “federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crimes.”
The operation has extended into cities such as Chicago, Memphis, St Louis, Missouri, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Detroit.