Anti-Trump protests in downtown Portland, Oregon have gone violent as protesters smashed shop windows and created a scene late Wednesday.
Protesters who had gathered by Portland’s river vowed to “protect the results” of Tuesday’s close-run election and held banners proclaiming “Count Every Vote” and “The Vote is Over. The Fight Goes On.”
“We want Trump out of office, that’s the main focus,” one of the leaders of the protests told members of the crowd, many of whom openly carried firearms.
The protesters were later locked in a stand-off with police as the Oregon state government activated the National Guard.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s office has warned it could deploy munitions and tear gas to disperse the crowd perpetrating “widespread violence”.
The sheriff’s office took to Twitter to say that the mass gathering was a “riot”, warning demonstrators to “leave the area now”.
It earlier said that the protesters aimed projectiles, such as glass bottles, at officers.
It also said nine arrests have been made concerning the incident.
An AP reporter at the scene reported that there has been no clash between the police and the demonstrators.
Earlier, the protesters attended a peaceful rally in a downtown park hosted by a coalition of far-left, anti-capitalist groups featuring lectures and music.
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“In the interest of public safety, Governor Kate Brown, under advice of the Unified Command, has activated the use of the Oregon National Guard to assist local law enforcement,” the sheriff’s office statement further read.
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