Federal police deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters who threw rocks and eggs at the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, late on Wednesday night, according to authorities.
A crowd of up to 200 people gathered outside the building in the South Waterfront section of the city, where Federal Protective Services officers issued warnings on loudspeakers telling the demonstrators not to trespass on federal property, KGW-TV reported.
The ICE building has been the site of several violent clashes between demonstrators and federal police over the past year, particularly after the May 25 police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Federal police deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters who threw rocks and eggs at the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, late on Wednesday night, according to authorities
Federal authorities use tear gas and flash bangs in an attempt to disperse rioters outside the ICE building in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday
A demonstrator throws a tear gas canister back at law enforcement officers during a rally for the abolition of ICE in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday
An estimated 200 people protested in Portland late on Wednesday – hours after President Joe Biden’s inauguration
The clashes late on Wednesday escalated to the point where authorities needed to block off streets leading to the building.
Video posted to social media show flash bangs exploding as federal authorities attempted to quell the unrest.
The demonstrators have long demanded that ICE, the agency that has drawn the ire of pro-immigrant advocates for its aggressive enforcement of immigration laws, be abolished.
Protests in Portland erupted on Wednesday just hours after the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
In his first day in office, Biden signed several executive orders, including a 100-day moratorium on deportations as well as a halt to the construction of a border wall along the US-Mexico frontier.
Biden has pledged to undo hardline immigration policies that were enacted by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Earlier on Wednesday, antifa demonstrators smashed the windows of the Democratic Party headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
They also burned American flags and spray-painted graffiti onto storefronts in Denver and Seattle, marched in Columbus, Ohio, and wielded shields and clubs while protesting in Sacramento hours after President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
A group of protesters carrying anti-Biden and anti-police signs were marching Wednesday in Portland streets and damaged the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Oregon, police said.
One of the signs read ‘We don’t want Biden, we want revenge!’ in response to ‘police murders’ and ‘imperialist wars.’
The group in Portland smashed windows and spray-painted anarchist symbols at the political party building. It was one of at least four groups planning to gather in the city on Inauguration Day, police said.
At its peak, the group numbered around 200 people.
Antifa members spray-painted anti-Biden graffiti while vandalizing the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Oregon in Portland on Wednesday
Antifa members dressed in black are seen smashing windows of the Democratic Party of Oregon headquarters in Portland
Police in Portland made several arrests just hours after Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president on Wednesday
One of the signs read ‘We don’t want Biden, we want revenge!’ in response to ‘police murders’ and ‘imperialist wars’
Police said on Twitter that officers on bicycles had entered the crowd to contact someone with a weapon and to remove poles affixed to a banner that they thought could be used as a weapon.
Police said the crowd swarmed the officers and threw objects at the officers, who used a smoke canister to get away.
The group was one of at least four planning to gather in the city on Inauguration Day, police said.
A car caravan in the city celebrated the transition of presidential power and urged policy change, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Another group of about 150 people was gathering around 5pm in Northeast Portland with speakers talking about police brutality.
The demonstrators chanted in support of Black Lives Matter while urging more progressive policies.
‘This is such a monumental day,’ one of the speakers told the crowd.
‘Because today is the day we dump Trump. But we need to embrace resistance too. The fight is just beginning.’
Black Lives Matter activists confront the police during a protest after the inauguration of President Joe Biden in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday
A protester puts out a police smoke grenade during demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday
A protester is seen above during demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, just hours after Biden was sworn in as president
A coalition of communist and anti-fascist demonstrators march through Southeast Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday
A block away from the demonstration, a car flipped over, though it was unclear how.
Protesters rushed to the scene and pulled a little girl and her mother out of the overturned vehicle, according to witnesses. There were no serious injuries.
Portland has been the site of frequent protests, many involving violent clashes between officers and demonstrators, ever since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
Over the summer, there were demonstrations for more than 100 straight days.
Mayor Ted Wheeler recently decried what he described as a segment of violent agitators who detract from the message of police accountability and should be subject to more severe punishment.
Members of the Communist Party USA and other anti-fascist groups burn an American flag on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Wednesday
An Anti-Fascist Collation member lights up a cigarette using the flames from a burning American flag in Denver
Members of the Communist Party USA and other anti-fascist groups burn an American flag on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol
Keith Hodson pops a bottle of champagne on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol to celebrate Biden’s inauguration
Colorado State Police officers extinguish an American flag that was set on fire by members of the Communist Party USA and other anti-fascist groups
A participant wears a mask during a gathering outside the State Capitol to mark the inauguration of President Joe Biden
An Antifa demonstrator yells at a man who put out a fire they started with an American flag on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol
Antifa and Communist Party members hold up anti-Biden signs during a demonstration in Denver on Wednesday
A member of the anti-capitalist Brown Berets is seen above outside the Colorado State Capitol on Wednesday
Colorado State Patrol troopers keep watch from the balcony outside the House of Representatives chambers during a gathering outside the State Capitol to mark the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday
Meanwhile, some 100 far-left demonstrators and Black Lives Matter supporters took to the streets of Denver and demonstrated near the Colorado State Capitol to protest the incoming president while others carrying communist and anti-fascist banners denounced Biden and the now-former President Donald Trump.
At least two people were arrested on weapons charges as communist and anti-fascist demonstrators set fire to an American flag, according to KMGH-TV.
The demonstrations were staged by a small anti-fascist group that marched from Denver’s Cheesman Park to the Colorado Capitol.
The protesters denounced both Democrats and Republicans while criticizing police violence and racial injustice.
Later on Wednesday, supporters of Black Lives Matter took part in an ‘Inauguration March’. The event was promoted as a peaceful event to promote black, indigenous, and Latino communities.
Seattle police posted images of shattered glass at the US federal courthouse in downtown on Wednesday
Police said that Antifa members vandalized several storefronts and businesses in downtown Seattle on Wednesday
The Pacific Northwest city was also the site of fierce clashes between police and protesters in the aftermath of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last spring. The above image shows damage to a building in Seattle on Wednesday
Antifa demonstrators also marched and set fire to American flags in Seattle on Wednesday.
The Pacific Northwest city was also the site of fierce clashes between police and protesters in the aftermath of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last spring.
The group did not appear to be a large one. Several people were arrested for property damage and assault, according to KIRO-TV.
Seattle police said they are monitoring the group as it continues to march through the city streets.
Police tweeted a photo of smashed windows at the federal William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse at 6th Ave and Spring Street.
Meanwhile in Sacramento, dozens of Antifa members, some of them wielding clubs and shields, were seen marching through the streets of California’s state capital on Wednesday, according to reports.
Many of them chanted slogans denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A few carried a large banner that read ‘Abolish ICE.’
‘No prisons, no walls – no USA at all,’ they chanted.
Other chants included ‘No kids in cages’ and ‘All cops are bastards.’
‘The fact that one figurehead is being traded for another on the 20th does not matter to us,’ according to a message posted on the Antifa Sacramento web site.
A small group of Antifa demonstrators are seen above near the California State Capitol in Sacramento on Wednesday
Some of the Antifa members were reportedly wielding shields and clubs while marching through Sacramento
‘This does nothing to combat the white supremacy that the US was built on, and does nothing to stop its current white supremacist project.
‘While we do not care about the damage done to the Capitol building in DC on January 6th, we recognize it as an outgrowth of the racist rage that has been building and organizing for years.’
Most of the demonstrators were dressed in black while some were carrying Black Lives Matter signs and banners, according to KOVR-TV.
Sacramento police say demonstrators toppled over the fencing at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
One person who confronted the demonstrators from their car was cited for illegal possession of pepper spray.