PORTLAND, OR – As they have for the past 53 days, violent anarchists continue to riot on the streets of Portland as federal law enforcement officers work diligently and honorably to enforce federal law by defending federal property and the lives of their fellow officers.
Attacks on federal personnel and property overnight have included attacks on Law Enforcement officers with commercial grade fireworks, hard projectiles, and lasers – which can cause permanent blindness. Last night violence was even more aggressive than previous nights as rioters once again tried to set fire to the federal courthouse and actively tried to breach the entrance of the courthouse. Rioters are also employing tactics that force federal officers to leave the Hatfield Federal Courthouse, setting them up to be attacked with lasers and projectiles.
The past 24 hours:
Around 7 p.m. local time a rioter attacked the Hatfield Federal Courthouse.
There were well over 1,000 protestors gathered at the courthouse by 9:30; no DHS action was taken at that time as the crowd remained peaceful. Despite a no-fly zone around the courthouse, a drone was spotted in use.
Around 10:20 p.m. local time, however, violent anarchists began their nightly assault of the courthouse. Rioters began to barricade the front of the courthouse and assaulted officers inside of the courthouse with lasers – which can cause permanent blindness.
After repeated attacks from rioters, the plywood covering doors at the front of the courthouse began to buckle. A group of rioters also vandalized the south entrance to the courthouse with spray paint.
In response to the rioters’ assault, federal officers were forced to leave the building in order to repel the mob. When they did so, they were immediately assaulted with lasers and a variety of other objects designed to inflict harm.
Crowd control measures were deployed to try and redirect the large amount of people in the courthouse vicinity. Rioters responded by using cars to block movement on the street.
Rioters then began using wooden boards to block the main courthouse entrance with officers inside. They also hurled projectiles at the front of the courthouse and charged the doors. There were also reports of individuals with baseball bats and a shopping cart full of bricks in front of the courthouse. DHS officers tried to direct the crowd away from the courthouse and were once again attacked by lasers.
This headline and others like it are grossly inaccurate & irresponsible.
Our officers are not "paramilitary." They are civilian law enforcement doing their job — enforcing federal law.https://t.co/BFbKVw9O12
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) July 23, 2020
Around midnight rioters attempted to set the courthouse on fire, as they have done numerous times before. They also threw smoke bombs into the flames causing the interior of the courthouse to fill with smoke. In response, a team of federal officers was forced to leave the building, taking one individual into custody. When they did, a rioter threw a bag filled with hard objects at officers.
Around 12:40 a.m. local time violent extremists attempted to set trash bags on fire in the vicinity of the courthouse. They then then began using old fencing and road blocks as a barrier at the front door and fired commercial grade fireworks at federal forces. Two Molotov cocktails were also thrown near the courthouse.
At 1:39 a.m. local time, rioters ripped plywood off the front of the Courthouse and were able to expose the glass underneath. One rioter immediately started to break the glass under the cover of yet another laser attack from the mob.
Later, rioters were able to tear down an entire panel of plywood protecting the building and proceeded to use part of the city’s abandoned fence from the park to attempt to block federal officers from exiting the building. When officers left the building in response, rioters responded by firing commercial grade fireworks at the officers.
Rioters also destroyed a camera outside of the Edith Green Federal building, rendering it inoperable.
One FPS officer suffered chemical burns from the fireworks that were being used during one of the many attacks
There were 5 arrests conducted by DHS.