As expected, protests erupted in the US following the ruling in the Breonna Taylor case, with Portland agitators setting fire to the police precinct and bombarding officers with stones and Molotov cocktails.
Just hours after it was announced that Louisville officers would not face charges for the killing in March of 26-year-old emergency room technician Breonna Taylor during an alleged no-knock warrant incident, downtown Portland was once again flooded with protesters.
Portland police declared protests an unlawful gathering shortly before 10pm local time as violence broke out roughly a half mile from the city’s infamous federal courthouse, which has been a major flashpoint in civil unrest in Portland for months.
Protesters bombarded a downtown precinct with fire and rocks, with the awning of the police precinct catching on fire.
A Molotov cocktail was thrown at responding officers as they attempted to put out the fire and secure the area.
Police and federal agents exchanged smoke and tear grenades and other non-lethal munitions with several agitators among the crowds of protesters, some of whom responded by throwing fireworks and other missiles.
Lines of police faced off with protesters on Third Avenue and Main Street for roughly 40 minutes as they attempted to clear the area in the wake of the firebombing.
Local media are reporting that there were at least six arrests, but the number is expected to rise.
Portland has been wracked by protests for months following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in May. There was a brief respite from nightly demonstrations as wildfires swept through the state of Oregon, but the Breonna Taylor ruling has again brought protesters out in force.
On Wednesday, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that only one of the officers involved in Taylor's fatal shooting would face charges, and there will be three counts of “first-degree wanton endangerment.”
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