Portland Protests: Weekend Black Lives Matter Rallies Remain Largely Peaceful After Federal Agents Withdraw

Scattered Black Lives Matter protests took place for the 66th and 67th nights in Portland, Oregon, but remained largely peaceful with the withdrawal of federal agents. One exception was a combative protest that was broken up outside a sheriff's office building.

Saturday was marked with two separate protests, the first of which took place at the Portland Justice Center. Hundreds gathered for a march on the city’s federal courthouse, which has been a regular target for protesters.

“Just after midnight, the majority of the crowd that had gathered outside the federal courthouse embarked on a march through downtown and the Pearl District,” Portland police said in a press release. “The large group shrunk during the nearly two hour walk. When it returned to Southwest 3rd Avenue, the crowd consisted of about 100 people who slowly drifted off into the city over the next hour.”

Police said the march remained peaceful until it broke up on its own.

The second protest took place near a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office building around the same time, with protesters allegedly showing more aggression toward police. Abut 200 people gathered outside the sheriff’s office and blocked traffic near the building. Police said many in the crowd aimed lasers at officers while others threw glass bottles, with at least one filled with paint hitting an officer in the head, causing no injury.

Portland police declared the protest an “unlawful assembly” around midnight Sunday and arrested at least two people before the crowd dispersed.

Sunday’s protest outside the federal courthouse was largely a repeat of Saturday’s peaceful march though the crowd was smaller.

Around 400 people gathered in the park near the courthouse and were spread out into smaller groups for most of the evening. One group held a candlelight vigil while another listened to speakers who expressed some disappointment at the size of the Sunday protest.

“This is not a movement about anti-fed,” speaker and protester Teal Lindseth said. “It’s a movement about Black lives matter.”