Riots propelled by the far-left Antifa network in Portland caused $2.3 million in damage to federal buildings, an official said this week.
The office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Billy Williams confirmed the figure with The Epoch Times.
The bulk of the damage was inflicted upon the Mark. O Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, ground central for the riots that unfolded last summer, culminating in nightly clashes between Department of Homeland Security forces and rioters. That damage is pegged at $1.6 million, Williams’ office said.
Rioters repeatedly assaulted the building, smashing windows and ripping protective wood away from its exterior. Attempts to breach the building were repelled by federal forces, who utilized tear gas and other crowd control measures to respond to the violent incursion bids.
The clashes eventually died down and the Trump administration withdrew forces at the behest of state and city officials.
Riots continued taking place in Portland into this year but have primarily transpired in other areas. The main federal structure targeted by rioters after the summer has been an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency building.
Williams told The Oregonian that multiple windows at the U.S. Attorney’s Office were broken by metal ball bearings, which officials believe were launched from wrist rockets.
Rioters used weapons including slingshots, mortar-style fireworks, and sledgehammers to attack officers, then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told members of Congress in an August 2020 hearing.
“Officers have suffered chemical burns, bloody wounds, and attacks with blinding lasers, leaving some of our colleagues with eye injuries. The security fence we installed to protect the Courthouse and our officers has been repeatedly attacked with power tools in a dangerous attempt to topple the barrier. To be clear—these are not the actions of peaceful protesters, they are the actions of criminals,” he said at the time.
The General Services Administration told The Epoch Times via email that the federal government has spent over $1 million to repair damage from the riots at five federal buildings, including the Hatfield Courthouse.
The other buildings are the Gus. J. Solomon U.S. Courthouse, the Pioneer Courthouse, the Edith Green–Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, and the 911 Federal Building.
The administration official could not provide a figure for how much has been spent to repair the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
The Portland Police Bureau was unable to provide an estimate of damage inflicted to its buildings or a figure for how much has been spent to repair the damage.
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