Portland, OR — Portland police reported the discovery of a bag with rifle magazines and firearms near Lownsdale Square Park where most of the protests against racism and police abuse have been reoccurring. Today marks day 60 where there have been demonstrations downtown which is now accompanied by federal agents.
Every night since the viral of the video of George Floyd’s death, Portland has continuously recorded peaceful protests yet also scenes of violence. President Donald Trump said he has sent federal agents to the city to stem the unrest, but local authorities and officials have only increased the intensity around the protest as more demonstrators are being tear-gassed over the past two weeks.
The protest on Sunday night started peacefully but gained intensity in the early hours of Monday. Some protesters gathered around the fence surrounding the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in downtown and launched fireworks. Federal agents used flash and gas grenades and warned protesters to stay away from the federal compound.
Police shared a picture of the loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails found in a bag near Lownsdale Square Park.
As reported by Fox 12 Oregon, there are no leads at the time of who the bag belongs to.
Also, around 1 am on Monday morning, a small fire was started in the park just outside the fence of Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse. Once it was extinguished though, demonstrators used shields as they began throwing objects over it. Within a couple of hours though, police had dispersed the crowd.
