PORTLAND — A protester has been charged with criminal trespass after police say he blocked railroad tracks in northwest Portland.
Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson says 41-year-old Tim Norgren positioned himself on the tracks Thursday with his arm locked to a large barrel filled with cement.
On Friday, police cut the barrel from Norgren’s arm and booked him into the Multnomah County Jail.
Supporters of Norgren said in a statement that the Stevenson man locked himself to a barrel for more than 24 hours to oppose fossil-fuel exports and trade agreements that send jobs overseas.
The protest coincided with President Barack Obama’s visit to Portland to push for a trans-Pacific trade deal.
