Protestors started a small fire inside PPA pic.twitter.com/3QxwCOJmkk
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) August 9, 2020
Anarchists associated with the ANTIFA movement set fire inside of a police union building in Portland, OR, Saturday night.
Three officers were injured, including one who was hospitalized.
Police said a group of protesters from Peninsula Park marched to the Portland Police Association (PPA) building, which is located about five miles north of the federal courthouse that has been the target of nightly violence and attacks throughout the summer.
About 20 demonstrators reportedly broke into the building, set the fire and were adding to it when officers made a riot declaration just after 11:30pm.
The police used “crowd control munitions” and physical force and tear gas to clear the protesters, with some launching objects back at the officers. By 2 a.m. the crowd had been dispersed, according to a statement.
Portland has been the site of nightly violence and civil unrest for more than two months.
On Thursday, ANTIFA rioters barricaded police officers in a police precinct house and attempted to set fire to the building.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who several weeks ago attempted to show solidarity with the protesters by standing with them in the street, accused them of attempted murder.
“When you commit arson with an accelerant in an attempt to burn down a building that is occupied by people who you have intentionally trapped inside, you are not demonstrating, you are attempting to commit murder,” Wheeler said last week in a joint press conference with Police Chief Chuck Lovell.