PORTLAND—A subdued protest on Sunday, August 30, the 95th day of protests in Portland, resulted in declaration of unlawful assembly and 29 arrests. This occurred one night after the shooting between pro-Trump advocates and counter protesters that left one man dead.
At about 8:30 p.m., a group of about 150 protesters started marching from Laurelhurst Park to the Kelly Building, an office for Portland Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, said the Portland Police Bureau. The Oregonian reported that the crowd was smaller than recent several weeks, and was diminishing as time passed during the night.
Multiple protester vehicles were blocking traffic, and they ignored the police’s direction to move the cars. While police officers were staying back in a parking lot, a part of demonstrators wearing protective gear and carrying shields began throwing objects including rocks and eggs at officers and police cars, said police.
Portland Police ordered people to stop throwing objects, and said otherwise people would be subject to arrest and citation multiple times. The crowd did not follow the instruction, so the police declared an unlawful assembly at 10:40 p.m., requesting them to disperse to the west.
Most of the crowd still did not leave, and police began arresting numerous people while pushing the crowd to the west. Police found two people possessing handguns, and others knives, rocks, and an expandable baton, said PPB. The Oregonian reported police officers fired pepper balls at the crowd. Selective arrests were also made, including people who claimed to be press but failed to show certification to the police.
By 1:30 a.m., the majority of the crowd had left the area around the Kelly Building, said police. 29 people mainly in their 20s and 30s were arrested with the charges including Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree and Interfering with a Peace Officer. Two of them were teenagers.
