Such moves would mark a significant expansion of the federal force operating at the Portland federal courthouse — there were 114 federal agents there in mid-July — though it is unclear how many existing personnel could be sent home after the arrival of at least 100 reinforcements. Now officials and demonstrators in other cities that have experienced ongoing protests against police violence fear that federal agents will bring the same tactics to them. Portland has been the scene of long-running protests over police mistreatment of minorities, with demonstrators’ anger increasingly focused on a large federal courthouse downtown. At one point, some people in the crowd began to shoot fireworks up toward the broken windows of the federal courthouse. Federal agents burst through the plywood-reinforced doors of the building and rushed forward toward the fence line.

Source: Washington Post July 27, 2020 17:29 UTC