Protests in Portland, Seattle, lead to several arrests

PORTLAND – Portland police declared a riot for the second night in a row Tuesday after a crowd of about 100 people set out on a “direct action” march from Kenton Park to the Portland Police Association office – where fires were ignited.

One person was arrested and charged with second-degree arson, Portland police said.

In Seattle, three people face charges after demonstrators gathered outside the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct for a Daunte Wright vigil, police said. Two people were arrested for graffiti and another for obstruction, police said.

Portland police said the group walked through Kenton and blocked traffic at North Lombard and Denver, where the PPA building is located. By 10 p.m., someone in the group had lit a fire next to the building in a garbage can, police said. Others reportedly shot fireworks toward the building, KOIN reported.

One person used an unknown accelerant on the wooden frame of a door to the building, igniting a fire, police said.

Police declared a riot about 10 minutes after the group arrived at the office building, citing criminal activity and the danger the fires were posing to the surrounding neighborhood.

After the arrests, police said many people in the crowd returned to Kenton Park and appeared to get into cars and leave. In total, the incident lasted less than 30 minutes.