PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Protests resumed and more arrests were made Sunday after Saturday night demonstrations were declared a riot and more than 50 people were arrested on the 100th consecutive night of unrest in the city.
A rally and march at Alberta Park was planned for Sunday evening, according to posts on social media. As in many previous nights, a march destination was not listed. However, around 9:45 p.m., police alerted drivers in Northeast Portland that people had gathered outside the North Precinct and were blocking traffic on NE Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard south of NE Killingsworth Street.
A fire was started in the street on NE MLK Blvd, which required a crew from Portland Fire and Rescue to extinguish. Firefighters were able to do so without much incident — with the exception of one arrest made, according to police. Officers disengaged once the fire was doused.
Within an hour, a large part of the crowd moved around to the north side of the precinct, blocking traffic on NE Killingsworth Street. Police kept protesters from proceeding south onto NE 6th Avenue and announced to the crowd that SE 6th Avenue was closed between NE Killingsworth Street and NE Roselawn Street.
Within the next hour, Portland police say they disengaged after telling the crowd multiple times to not follow officers into the closed area. However, several individuals did follow officers, prompting more arrests.
The majority of the crowd dissipated by 1 a.m. Police say they made a total of 15 arrests throughout the night. Dangerous items were reportedly found in several arrestee’s possessions — including a glass jar filled with flammable liquid, a bottle containing an accelerant, a slugging weapon known as a “slung shot,” a stun gun and a baton. Two of the individuals arrested had ballistic vests.
Those arrested and their charges were listed as follows:
Arrests made overnight
- Cole Cunningham, 38, of Portland — Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree, Resisting Arrest
- Adam Layee, 36, unknown residence — Reckless Burning, Possession of a Destructive Device
- Camillo Masagli, 26, of Portland — Reckless Burning
- Stacey Kirshbaum, 54, of San Francisco, California — Interfering with a Peace Officer
- Gerald Kohler, 19, of Oregon City, Oregon – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Brennan Schill, 23, of Mesa, Arizona – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Sean Lopez, 25, of Portland – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Rachel Raffaelli-Wong, 29, of Sacramento, California – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Daniel Glenn, 36, of Portland – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Lucas Angell-Atchison, 25, of Portland – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Tayler Hansen, 20, of Utah – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Ronald Curteman, 24, of Vancouver, Washington – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Obadiah Powell, 20, of Portland – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Scarlet Passmore, 28, of Portland – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
- Deidra Watts, 25, of Vancouver, Washington – Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree
On Saturday night, protesters gathered at Ventura Park, but did not make it far before things accelerated into a riot in the residential neighborhood.
Police initially refused to let people march from the park to the East Precinct. When demonstrators decided to march anyway, they were met with a line of police in the middle of SE Stark Street.
“It was clear that the intent of the crowd was not peaceful protest,” police officials said. “Therefore officers were positioned in such a way that prevented the march from reaching East Precinct.”
Minutes after demonstrators came face to face with officers, someone threw a Molotov cocktail, according to Portland police. A KOIN 6 News crew saw at least two flaming objects thrown that started a fire when they hit the ground. At least one person was injured—their shoes catching on fire.
Police declared a riot shortly after 9 p.m. and deployed tear gas, as well as other crowd-control munitions.
Between the Portland Police Bureau and the Oregon State Police, 59 people were arrested. Everyone arrested faces multiple charges, including 29 who are charged with riot. Other charges include assaulting an officer, arson, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, interfering with an officer, and criminal mischief.