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Posted: Nov 20, 2021 / 7:16 PM CST
Updated: 11/21/2021 12:23 AM CST
Approximately 100 people gathered in downtown Portland, Oregon near the Multnomah County Justice Center to protest Kyle Rittenhouse’s verdict. (Mark Graves / The Oregonian via AP)
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) – Portland law enforcement agencies rioted Friday night when about 200 protesters protested the acquittal of a teen who killed two people and injured another in Wisconsin.
Protesters broke windows, threw objects at the police and discussed burning down a local government building in downtown Portland, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said. The crowd had broken up around 11 p.m., reported KOIN TV.
The Portland Police Bureau said several people had received subpoenas, but only one person was arrested who had a pending arrest warrant on another matter.
Protesters gathered after Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, was acquitted in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse killed two people and injured another in protests against police brutality in Wisconsin last year.
Protests against the verdict were held in several other US cities through Saturday, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
About 1,000 people marched through downtown Chicago on Saturday afternoon, organized by Black Lives Matter Chicago and other local activist groups. According to the Chicago Tribune, protesters held signs reading “STOP WHITE SUPREMACY” and “WE HITTING THE STREETS TO PROTEST THIS RACIST UNJUSTICE SYSTEM” with a picture of Rittenhouse carrying a gun.
Tanya Watkins, executive director of Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, spoke at a rally in Federal Plaza ahead of the march, according to the Tribune.
“Yesterday’s verdict doesn’t surprise me, but I’m tired. I’m disappointed. I am angry. … I’ve lost every bit of faith in this judicial system, ”said Watkins, who is Black.
In North Carolina, dozens of people gathered near the state Capitol on Saturday to protest the verdict, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. Speakers led the crowd of about 75 people in chants of “No Justice, No Peace!” and “Get rid of the police!” Police officers on motorbikes escorted the demonstrators and blocked traffic for them as they marched past bars and restaurants down the street.
Protests, often violent, erupted in Portland following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis last year. Some activists complained that the police were persistent in their response. Shortly after the Rittenhouse ruling, Portland Police Bureau chief Chuck Lovell said officers were working on plans for Friday night and the weekend.
By 8:50 p.m., around 200 protesters had gathered in downtown Portland and blocked roads. At around 9 p.m., windows were broken and doors to municipal facilities were damaged.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office called the event a riot and said in a press release on Saturday that some protesters had thrown urine, bottles of water and batteries at MPs.
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https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/hundreds-protest-rittenhouse-acquittal-across-us/
