'No borders! No nations! Abolish deportations!' Violent anti-ICE protests continue in Portland after Biden inauguration as Seattle police chief vows to get tough on left-wing vandals
Protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland turned ugly on Saturday night as federal authorities threatened mass arrests for trespassing.
Dramatic videos posted on Twitter showed the crowd chanting: 'No borders! No nations! Abolish deportations!'
Officers with the Federal Protective Service, a branch within the Department of Homeland Security, declared an unlawful assembly at about 10pm and ordered protesters to disperse.
'If you trespass on federal property with a weapon, you will be arrested,' a recording warned the crowd before officers began deploying tear gas and flash bangs.
It marked the four-straight day of protests in the city since Joe Biden's inauguration as demonstrators make it clear that a new Democratic administration will not stop their campaign for social justice.
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Protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland turned ugly on Saturday night as federal authorities threatened mass arrests for trespassing
The protesters marched through Portland's South Waterfront district before staging their demonstration at the ICE building
'If you trespass on federal property with a weapon, you will be arrested,' a recording warned the crowd before officers began deploying tear gas
Video posted on social media showed the crowd chanting: 'No borders! No nations! Abolish deportations!'
A line of police officers in riot gear deploy tear gas at protesters who refused to disperse in Portland on Saturday night
¿No borders. No nations. Abolish deportation!¿
— Alix ¿¿ {Tobacco Fairie} (@thatpowellgirl) January 24, 2021
The crowd is marching on ICE in Portland again tonight. pic.twitter.com/qeKlll4KFS
¿No borders. No nations. Abolish deportation!¿
The crowd is marching on ICE in Portland again tonight. pic.twitter.com/qeKlll4KFS
It's unclear how many protesters, if any, were arrested over Saturday night's skirmishes.
Dozens of protesters were seen resisting officers' orders to leave the area. They held up umbrellas to shield from clouds of tear gas filling the air.
It came days after the same ICE building in Portland's South Waterfront district was targeted by some 200 protesters last Wednesday following Biden's inauguration.
Officers deploy a flash bang in an effort to break up crowds during a protest on Saturday night in Portland
Dozens of protesters were seen resisting officers' orders to leave the area on Saturday night
The protesters, most of them wearing all black, held up umbrellas to shield from clouds of tear gas filling the air
The protesters appeared largely unfazed by the tear gas heading their way
Protesters spray painted the side of the ICE facility, which was boarded up for security
A candlelight vigil for immigrants who died in ICE custody was set up by the protesters
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On Wednesday night, protesters pelted the building with rocks and eggs, eliciting another show of force by federal officers.
Earlier in the evening demonstrators carrying anti-Biden and anti-police signs smashed the windows of Portland's Democratic Party headquarters.
'We wanted to symbolize that both parties are the oppressor,' a 25-year-old protester, who asked not to be named, told CNN. 'We've all experienced firsthand that police violence is police violence regardless of which political party holds . ... It doesn't make a difference to the person being beaten.'
Similar unrest unfolded on Wednesday in Seattle, where police said Antifa members smashed windows at the federal Nakamura Courthouse.
Biden has yet to respond to the incidents or offer a plan to curb the violence.
Asked about the matter at a press briefing on Friday, Biden's Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: 'I haven't spoken with him specifically about those events, but it's something our national security team, the homeland security adviser, is closely monitoring, of course.'
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The ICE facility in downtown Portland was targeted by about 200 Antifa protesters on Wednesday night. Pictured: Federal police deploy tear gas to disperse crowds
A group of protesters shield themselves from chemical irritants fired by police on Wednesday
Police officers respond to protesters rallying against the new Biden-Harris administration and to call upon them to abolish ICE in Portland on Wednesday night
Meanwhile Seattle's interim police Chief Adrian Diaz has vowed to crack down on protests there.
Anyone who destroys property during protests in Seattle will now be arrested and prosecuted under a strict new policy coordinated with City Attorney Pete Holmes, Diaz announced Saturday.
Details about the new policy were not immediately available, the Seattle Times reported.
A spokesperson for Holmes' office indicated that they were unaware of any changes, telling the newspaper: 'We only learned about it after the fact.'
Diaz criticized the protests that have roiled the city for months, saying that the demonstrators are more focused on vandalism than social justice.
'They've been focused on lighting fires, they've been focused on, you know, breaking windows, and these are things we need to work on,' he said.
