Portland state of emergency extended after arrests, property damage

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) extended the city’s state of emergency for an additional 24 hours on Wednesday after an unlawful assembly was declared on Tuesday night following the guilty verdict in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

The mayor had declared an unlawful assembly in downtown Portland Tuesday night because of violence and criminal activity, including an assault on a police officer and damage to public and private property, according to a declaration from the mayor’s office. 

The mayor wrote that in anticipation of additional peaceful demonstrations “to advance the racial justice movement in the country” and criminal activity “seeking to take advantage of the circumstances created by the peaceful demonstrations,” the city decided to extend the state of emergency through noon on Thursday.

According to KOIN, police arrested two people Tuesday night after a large gathering of individuals marched through the streets and smashed the windows of businesses, including different Starbucks locations.

At the height of the protests, KOIN reported, there were approximately 150 people blocking roads in the area of the Hatfield Courthouse, a demonstration that was dominated by anti-police protesters.

Chauvin was convicted of all three criminal counts he faced: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

In May, he was captured on video footage kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd was pronounced dead later that day at a local hospital.

Protests erupted throughout the country following Floyd’s death as people began demonstrating against racial injustice and police violence.