Anarchists in Portland Set Police Association Office on Fire

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The Police Association office in Portland, OR, was set on fire Saturday night amid broader protests that have ravaged the city for weeks.

Authorities say that around 10:45pm last night, individuals broke into the Portland Police Association office and ignited a fire “within a moments.” Police declared the situation a riot soon thereafter. Several people were arrested and officers were able to distinguish the fire.

Portland has had widespread, and at times violent, protests for the better part of two months. In an effort to quell the unrest the Department of Homeland Security has sent in armed personnel to protect federal buildings and make arrests.

Members of the DHS special security group have been using unmarked cars to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 13.

The deployment has become a flash point between local and federal officials, up to and including President Trump.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf recently defended the crackdown. “Portland has been under siege for 47 straight days by a violent mob while local political leaders refuse to restore order to protect their city,” he wrote in a letter on Thursday.

“A federal courthouse is a symbol of justice. To attack it is to attack America.”

Today, Portland Mayor, Democrat Ted Wheeler called on federal forces to leave Portland, saying their presence is “leading to more violence and more vandalism” and is “not helping the situation at all.”

“They’re not wanted here, we haven’t asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave,” he.

The President however defended the deployment, saying federal agents are there to protect the city not to cause more violence.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against federal agencies on Friday over the detention of protesters in her state and a similar lawsuit was filed recently by the the American Civil Liberties Union.

Wheeler said Sunday he agrees that the Trump administration is breaking the law when it comes to his city.

“The tactics that the Trump administration are using on the streets of Portland are abhorrent,” he said.

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