Demonstrations continued outside a Southeast Portland building for a second night in a row after a brief hiatus due to wildfire smoke.
The crowd arrived at the Penumbra Kelly Building, which has been the site of previous protests this year — around 10:30 p.m. — after they marched from a local park roughly a half a mile away. The mass gathering blocked a nearby street in both directions, authorities said.
Police would respect their right to protest but warned the large crowd not to enter or remain on “the property its landscaping or walkways.”
“Failure to adhere to this order may subject you to arrest, citation, or the use of crowd control agents including, but not limited to, impact weapons and/or OC munitions,” Portland police wrote on Twitter.
SOME PROTESTS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY TAKE A MORE CONFRONTATIONAL APPROACH: REPORT
According to videos on social media, at least one activist speaking to a crowd in front of the building would criticize a Monday report by the New York Times that said some protesters were using a more confrontational approach, which could force a schism among some Black Lives Matter activists.
One tactic is taking the fight to white neighborhoods that had been gentrified.
“We don’t need allies anymore,” Stephen Green, an investor and entrepreneur in Portland who is Black, told the paper. “We need accomplices.”
The protester read parts of the article aloud to the crowd, which appeared to laugh at times.
“So this is what they do right, so not only do they get a brother who agrees with what they say, but they get another brother to argue with that first brother and they blast that out,” an activist told the crowd before reading the quote by Green. “So what they’re showing is Black people not being able to get along.”
After more joined the crowd, police would issue the use of force warning before the article was read aloud once again. Meanwhile, a firework was thrown in front of police vehicles in the area, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter, Sergio Olmos. Some people were also captured on video dancing to songs by Miley Cyrus and Rage Against the Machine.
PORTLAND PROTESTS RESUME AFTER WILDFIRE HIATUS WITH GINSBURG VIGIL, MORE VANDALISM
On Monday, a crowd marched on the Penumbra Kelly Building and stayed off of the property, but some individuals threw various items into the parking lot after congregating near the entrance, Portland police said earlier on Tuesday.
Arson investigators and the Explosive Disposal Unit identified one of the items thrown as a “viable Molotov cocktail,” according to authorities.
“The wick was lit and the device was thrown onto the property,” police added. “Fortunately, the fire extinguished and no one was injured.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Protests in Portland resumed late last week, after more than 100 consecutive days of demonstrations in the city, reports said.
Fox News’ Frank Miles contributed to this report
Source link
