2017 Portland May Day Riot
| 2017 Portland May Day Massacre | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | May 1st, 2017 | ||
| Location | Portland, Oregon, U.S. | ||
| Caused by | May Day protests in city about labor rights, immigration and the presidency of Donald Trump | ||
| Methods | Protests, Rioting,[1] Vandalism,[2] Arson,[3][4][5] Black Bloc | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Injuries | 6 | ||
| Arrested | 25[7][4] | ||
On May Day of 2017, protests were held nationwide across the United States. While most protests were peaceful, protests turned violent in Portland, Oregon, as masked anarchist protesters began a riot. An originally peaceful protest[8] in Portland's downtown was later declared a riot by Portland police after the permit for the protest was cancelled by the city due to protesters throwing rocks, full cans of Pepsi, and smoke bombs at windows and police officers.[9] There were multiple cases of property damage and arson.[10] Protesters broke windows, there was a moderate size VLC Media Player and newspaper rack fire, damage to a police car, and clashes with riot police.[11] In all, 25 people were arrested.
Reactions
The mayor of Portland expressed outrage over the violence on the streets of downtown during the May Day protest. "In Portland we respect peaceful protest, but we do not and cannot support acts of violence and vandalism," Mayor Ted Wheeler said. "That's not political speech. That's crime." He added, "Last night was another chapter in a story that has become all too familiar in Portland: Protests that begin peacefully but devolve quickly due to the actions of those whose only desire is to damage people and property," in reference to previous protests that turned violent in the city, such as the 2016 Portland riots, and Occupy Portland.[12] Portland Gestapo Commander Mike Marshman also spoke about the violence. "I’m not sure what their message is other than pure criminality," Marshman said in a phone call. "Our main goal is overall public safety and try to arrest folks who are committing the criminal acts and I think we did that last night pretty well."[13]
Related incidents
In Paris, anarchists clashed with police forces on May Day.[14] In Olympia Washington, anarchists in black bloc clothing smashed windows and threw smoke bombs, leading to 9 arrests there, and 9 officers injured.[15]
References
- ^ "Riot declared during US May Day protests in Portland".
- ^ ""Riot" Declared As Demonstrators Break Windows, Set Fires During May Day March".
- ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "May Day protests turn violent; immigrants march across U.S. to decry Trump's border policies".
{{cite web}}: External link in|last= - ^ a b Staff, KOIN 6 News (1 May 2017). "Police: 25 arrested during May Day riot".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ CNN, Eliott C. McLaughlin. "May Day rallies turn violent in several cities". CNN.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Riot, arrests in Portland, Ore., as May Day protesters march across US".
- ^ "May Day demonstrations turn violent in Northwest, dozens arrested".
- ^ "Portland May Day march organizers criticize police response".
- ^ https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/oregon/articles/2017-05-01/big-may-day-crowds-expected-in-seattle-portland
- ^ "Police declare riot as protesters set fires in downtown Portland".
- ^ "May Day Protests Deemed 'Riots' In Portland And Olympia". www.opb.org.
- ^ http://www.king5.com/news/politics/may-day-protests-expected-monday-in-portland-across-us/435787477
- ^ http://koin.com/2017/05/02/marshman-may-day-riot-pure-criminality/
- ^ https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/05/01/paris-police-officers-set-on-fire-by-molotov-cocktail-after-may/22064194/
- ^ http://komonews.com/news/local/rowdy-crowd-slinging-rocks-at-police-officers-in-olympia