Six Federal Officers Injured Overnight During Confrontation With Rioters in Portland: DHS

Fireworks go off near federal police guarding the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in downtown Portland as federal officers confront rioters in Portland, Oregon, on July 24, 2020. (Kathryn Elsesser/AFP via Getty Images)

Six Department of Homeland Security (DHS) law enforcement officers were injured in Portland on Friday night, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said.

The situation of the injured officers is unclear.

Wolf called on the city of Portland to work with the federal government to bring the escalating violence against federal properties and officers under control.

“To be clear, criminals assaulted FEDERAL officers on FEDERAL property...and the city of Portland did nothing,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “It’s time Portland join other responsible cities around the country to hold criminals accountable and protect federal property and officers.”

He posted two photos on social media, with one showing something that appears to be three fireworks taped together, the other showing the aftermath of the overnight confrontation between rioters and the federal officers.

Rioting started in Oregon’s largest city in late May and has continued virtually nonstop each night since then.

On Friday night, about 3,000 or some protesters showed up outside the fenced-in Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, federal property. Federal officers gassed the rioters after some tried to force themselves into the fenced-in area outside the courthouse with a powered circular saw.

However, the rioters refused to disperse and threw back tear gas with their own devices.

Various videos show the rioters also trying to topple the fence by force, throwing fireworks at the courthouse, and shining green lasers directly into the eyes of the federal agents. Knives were also thrown at the federal agents, according to the Justice Department (DOJ) Spokesperson Kerri Kupec.

The White House mentioned on Friday that “commercial-grade mortar firework[s]” were launched by rioters against federal agents.

Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, condemned the rioting as she revealed that three federal officers were likely permanently blinded by rioters using lasers.

“These are not the actions of so-called peaceful protesters, and the Trump administration will not stand by and allow anarchy in our streets,” she said. “Law and order will prevail.”

Bowen Xiao and Zachary Stieber contributed to the report.