PORTLAND, Ore. — Police declared a riot in downtown Portland Tuesday night, marking the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder.
A crowd of demonstrators, many wearing all black, started to gather outside the Justice Center on Southwest Third Avenue and Main Street around 8 p.m. for a planned event to commemorate Floyd.
By 8:30 p.m., someone had spray painted the Justice Center with the words "Rest in Power George Floyd" and "All Cops Are Chauvin," referring to the Minneapolis officer who was convicted in the murder of George Floyd.
By 9 p.m., the crowd had grown to roughly 100-200 people.
Shortly after 9 p.m., fireworks were set off. Police said people started to chant "Burn this building down" as some lit a dumpster fire and pushed it close to the Justice Center. The fire was quickly put out.
An unlawful assembly was declared at about 9:25 p.m., and police began using a loudspeaker to demand that the crowd refrain from engaging in criminal activity. Police in riot gear confronted the crowd.
Police said people in the crowd were throwing frozen water bottles, glass bottles, eggs and metal spikes and fired mortar-style fireworks at officers. Police said officers deployed smoke canisters.
Just before 10 p.m., police said the crowd had marched to Portland City Hall on Southwest Fifth Avenue and Jefferson Street and broke windows. Moments later, police declared a riot.
Police ordered the crowd to disperse and said those who continued to engage in criminal activity would risk being arrested.
At 10:15 p.m., police said the crowd was marching in the downtown streets. Demonstrators broke windows at Estate Jewelry, Ruth's Chris Steak House and two Starbucks locations.
The crowd returned to the Justice Center at about 10:45 p.m. and began to disperse. Police said they made some "targeted arrests" during the riot.
Portland police released the following information about the arrests made Tuesday night:
- Elizabeth Hall, 30, second-degree criminal mischief
- Emery Hall, 30, second-degree criminal mischief, third-degree escape
- Rhiannon Millar-Griffin, 23, first-degree criminal mischief, riot
- Jacob Myers, 22, first-degree criminal mischief
- Jarrid Huber, 21, first-degree arson, first-degree criminal mischief, five counts of second-degree criminal mischief, riot
Earlier on Tuesday, a peaceful crowd marched from Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland to the Burnside Bridge. The group sat down on the bridge, shutting it down to traffic for nine minutes and 29 seconds of silence before returning.