MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2020) At least 19 people were detained in Portland after protesters set fire to the Police Association building and attacked law enforcement officers, Portland police said in an updated release.
"One juvenile referred to the courts for Interfering with a Peace Officer," police said in a Saturday statement, after listing 18 other detained individuals, whose age varies (between 19 and 52).
Earlier on Saturday, Portland police issued a riot declaration after protesters set an arson fire at the offices of the Portland Police Association (PPA) building on Saturday morning.
After the police engaged to disperse the riot, the protesters responded by throwing various objects, including rocks, at law enforcement officers.
"Multiple officers suffered minor injuries after being struck by rocks," the police said.
The police union building, which is located in a residential neighborhood, has been the site of many protests against racial injustice and police brutality over the past few months.
Speaking at an event in Texas on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said that with the help of National Guard forces, violence could stop in Portland within "minutes."
"We could clean out, as an example, Portland, we could fix Portland in, I would say, 45 minutes. The people in Portland should protest because the mayor doesn't know what he is doing," Trump said, adding "If he would call, or if they would ask, or if the governor would ask, we would have the National Guard in there in a very short period of time and that would be cleaned out in a matter of literally minutes and you would have a safe Portland, it's ridiculous that they go on like this."
Violent protests, attacks on police, court buildings and Federal government facilities have been ongoing in Portland for more than three months, beginning with the May 25 killing of an unarmed African-American man, George Floyd, during his arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
