Unrest continues in Portland, OR as police declare a riot on the 87th consecutive night of protests. Wochit
Portland police were seeking video Sunday of a fatal shooting on the embattled Oregon city’s streets after Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with Trump supporters in a caravan hundreds of vehicles long.
President Donald Trump responded with a Twitter barrage aimed at social justice protesters, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and top Democrats in Washington.
It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was related to the confrontations. Homicide detectives said they were aware of videos circulating on social media that showed the shooting Saturday night.
“If anyone can provide information about this case, I ask them to please reach out to our detectives, Police Chief Chuck Lovell said. “This violence is completely unacceptable and we are working diligently to find and apprehend the individual or individuals responsible.”
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Officers responded to fights, disturbances and collisions throughout downtown and made some arrests Saturday night, police said. By about 8:30 p.m. local time, the caravan of vehicles, part of a Trump rally held at Clackamas earlier in the day, had left downtown. The shooting took place about 15 minutes later.
Photos from the scene showed the victim wearing a Patriot Prayer hat. The right-wing group has involved in several demonstrations in the city. Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson told The Oregonian he had seen the photo but did not say whether he knew the person.
“I have to figure out what the hell is going on,” Gibson told the newspaper.
Trump urged local leaders to call in the National Guard. Residents of Portland and other cities led by Democrats are disgusted with their leadership and with top Democrats in Washington, Trump said.
“Wheeler is incompetent, much like Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump tweeted. “This is not what our great Country wants. They want Safety & Security, and do NOT want to Defund our Police!”
Portland has been the scene of sometimes violent protests on an almost nightly basis since Memorial Day, when the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody prompted protests nationwide.
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Early Saturday, fires set outside a police union building that is a frequent site for protests prompted police to declare a riot. At least one dumpster had also been set on fire in a nearby street. That came hours after protesters rallied in the lobby of the Portland mayor’s condominium building Friday night, demanding he speak with them. The mayor did not.
Trump has repeatedly railed against Portland’s leadership in recent weeks. Speaking at the Republican National Convention last week, the president held up Portland as an example of a far-left city drowning in violence – and in need of his law-and-order, get-tough policies.
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