By Joseph Wilkinson
New York Daily News
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland, Ore., police temporarily detained more than 100 left-wing protesters Friday night and charged 13 with crimes.
Police said members of the group smashed windows and blocked traffic. They responded by forming a perimeter around the march and slowly closing in, essentially detaining an entire city block at one point, local journalists reported.
Police identified and photographed everyone in the group for “investigation of a crime.” A smaller group refused to comply with that order, and 13 people were arrested, including one 17-year-old, according to a Portland Police news release.
Police said they found two guns, knives, bear spray, a crowbar and multiple hammers within the perimeter. This news release did not mention any officers being injured, but said some protesters threw rocks and beer cans at the cops.
Demonstrators marched through Portland’s downtown Pearl District, chanting anti-police and anti-government slogans before their progress was halted by the police perimeter, according to multiple on-the-ground accounts. Protesters outside the police line continued to chant as cops closed in.
No protesters were jailed. The 13 charged with crimes were hauled across town for processing but released afterward, according to Alissa Azar, who was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer.
Portland, which has a long history of civil disobedience, has seen almost daily demonstrations since Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd in May 2020.
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