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March 28, 2024

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On one-year anniversary of Portland protests, crowd gathers to memorialize George Floyd

Protesters march, clash with police

By The Oregonian
Published: May 29, 2021, 9:08pm

The one-year anniversary of racial justice protests in Portland on Friday started out with a small, heartfelt tribute to George Floyd, the man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer a year ago Tuesday.

Later in the night, a group of protesters clashed with police in downtown Portland, resulting in at least two arrests by 10 p.m. Protesters chased and assaulted a man who some believed was the popular right-wing writer Andy Ngo.

Events began early Friday evening when a group of about 100 protesters gathered at Revolution Hall, the site of the first protest a year ago. People displayed banners and signs honoring victims of police brutality, including Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who was killed by Louisville, Ky., police last year. About 8 p.m., they began marching, chanting the names of victims and messages of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the middle of the march, demonstrators stopped at Southeast Morrison Street between 19th and 20th avenues, as some gave speeches. They started moving again mid-speech as a man from a nearby apartment building stood on a balcony and appeared to be pointing a long rifle at the protesters.

Separately, a smaller group gathered downtown shortly before 10 p.m. at the Multnomah County Justice Center. Federal agents and Portland police made two arrests, although the reason for the arrests was not immediately clear. There was also a significant police presence at the Justice Center, which was a focal point of 2020 protests.

The crowd started marching and chanting, eventually growing to about 80. Some protesters threw eggs at the east entrance of the Justice Center as police officers circled the street.

The group eventually made its way to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Shortly before 11 p.m., police made several announcements on a loudspeaker, asking members of the crowd to obey the law and to get out of the street. Police threatened to use crowd-control agents and munitions if marchers did not comply.

Shortly before midnight, several protesters clad in all black and with their faces covered chased a man, tackling him and punching him repeatedly. He then took refuge in The Nines, a downtown hotel. Several on social media said protesters identified the man as Ngo, a conservative author and personality who has been attacked previously by left-wing activists.

But the identity of the person was not immediately clear. Several people who were at the scene reported on social media that medics checked the man and he was able to leave the scene.

A Portland police spokesperson said a person who reported being chased got into an ambulance. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that person was taken to a hospital.

Portland protesters also gathered multiple times earlier in the week, including to mark the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s killing and four-year anniversary of the fatal MAX stabbings.

Portland police declared a riot Tuesday night amid a destructive downtown demonstration. Some in the crowd lit fireworks and a Dumpster fire, vandalized buildings with graffiti and broke windows at Portland City Hall.

Portland’s 2020 demonstrations spanned more than 100 consecutive nights — a lengthier stretch than anywhere else in the country.

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