Oregon Democratic Party offices vandalized amid post-inauguration protests

Caroline Radnofsky and Janhvi Bhojwani and Kimberly Flores Gaynor
Updated ·2 min read

Police arrested eight people on Wednesday after the Democratic Party headquarters in Portland, Oregon, was vandalized hours after President Joe Biden's inauguration.

The building's doors and windows were smashed, a small dumpster was lit on fire, and graffiti reading "Breonna Taylor deserves justice" and "F--- Biden" was sprayed on the outside walls, according to videos filmed at the scene mid-afternoon by reporters for NBC Portland affiliate KGW.

Portland police said some of the group of about 150 people carried weapons "including Molotov cocktails, knives, batons, chemical spray and a crowbar."

Some members of the crowd met in southeast Portland before heading to the Democratic Party offices dressed in black and carrying banners reading, "We don't want Biden, we want revenge! For police murders, imperialist wars and fascist massacres," and "We are ungovernable," according to a photo published by The Oregonian.

Charges against the eight arrested included felony criminal mischief, possession of a destructive device, and riot, police Sgt. Kevin Allen said in a video statement on Twitter.

At least 150 people later marched on Portland's Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, calling for the agency to be abolished.

A crowd clashed with federal officers outside the building, throwing rocks and eggs and vandalizing the building, Portland police added.

Federal officers declared an unlawful assembly and used munitions and tear gas to disperse demonstrators, according to KGW's Devon Haskins, who was on the scene.

Scattered protests also took place in downtown Seattle, Washington, where multiple locations, including a Starbucks storefront and the William Kenzo Nakamura Courthouse, were also vandalized, the Seattle Police Department reported.

Crowds marched toward the city's Pike Place chanting, "Antifa!" and "No cops, no prisons, total abolition!"

Two people were arrested on charges of property damage and assault respectively, Seattle police said.