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The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
Portland Mayor Tear-Gassed Amid Protests Over Federal Agents
Alejandro Lazo 4 hrs ago
PORTLAND—Mayor Ted Wheeler joined protesters here on the front lines Wednesday night and was tear-gassed with the crowd, days after criticizing the Trump administration’s deployment of federal agents.
Videos and photographs of Mr. Wheeler posted on social media showed him wearing goggles and a surgical mask and coughing amid a cloud of gas.
Earlier Wednesday evening, Mr. Wheeler had navigated through a large crowd of protesters who were at times openly hostile toward him, shouting vulgarities and calling on him to resign. Then after climbing the steps of the Multnomah County Justice Center, Mr. Wheeler was handed a microphone by activists and addressed the crowd directly via a loudspeaker.
"The reason I am here tonight is to stand with you,” Mr. Wheeler told the crowd, who booed him at times during his speech. “So if they’re launching the tear gas against you, they’re launching the tear gas against me.”
But Portland activists have been critical of the mayor, who is also the city’s police commissioner, arguing the Portland Police Bureau has also been heavy-handed toward protesters.
The city has been in the national spotlight this week given the clashes between federal agents and protesters. Unlike in other cities, the protests here following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25 have continued unabated and have often grown destructive, drawing the ire of President Trump. The president sent federal agents here July 1, a move that reinvigorated nightly demonstrations.
Mr. Wheeler on Monday joined other big city mayors to denounce the tactics of federal agents. The Trump administration meanwhile has defended the legality of its presence in Portland.
The Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to an email Thursday morning requesting comment regarding the use of tear gas in Mr. Wheeler’s presence.
The incident occurred after Mr. Wheeler had descended the justice center’s steps, navigated through the throng and joined protesters at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, which along with the county justice center has been the target of vandalism and spray paint.
Before the mayor joined those in front of the federal building, the crowd had thrown bags of trash and other items over a perimeter protecting it, and then shot fireworks at the building, setting small fires.
Videos of the mayor showed him near the perimeter when tear gas was deployed and then later leaving the protest altogether, entering a nearby building as his security team scuffled with a few protesters.
Alejandro Lazo 4 hrs ago
PORTLAND—Mayor Ted Wheeler joined protesters here on the front lines Wednesday night and was tear-gassed with the crowd, days after criticizing the Trump administration’s deployment of federal agents.
Videos and photographs of Mr. Wheeler posted on social media showed him wearing goggles and a surgical mask and coughing amid a cloud of gas.
Earlier Wednesday evening, Mr. Wheeler had navigated through a large crowd of protesters who were at times openly hostile toward him, shouting vulgarities and calling on him to resign. Then after climbing the steps of the Multnomah County Justice Center, Mr. Wheeler was handed a microphone by activists and addressed the crowd directly via a loudspeaker.
"The reason I am here tonight is to stand with you,” Mr. Wheeler told the crowd, who booed him at times during his speech. “So if they’re launching the tear gas against you, they’re launching the tear gas against me.”
But Portland activists have been critical of the mayor, who is also the city’s police commissioner, arguing the Portland Police Bureau has also been heavy-handed toward protesters.
The city has been in the national spotlight this week given the clashes between federal agents and protesters. Unlike in other cities, the protests here following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25 have continued unabated and have often grown destructive, drawing the ire of President Trump. The president sent federal agents here July 1, a move that reinvigorated nightly demonstrations.
Mr. Wheeler on Monday joined other big city mayors to denounce the tactics of federal agents. The Trump administration meanwhile has defended the legality of its presence in Portland.
The Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to an email Thursday morning requesting comment regarding the use of tear gas in Mr. Wheeler’s presence.
The incident occurred after Mr. Wheeler had descended the justice center’s steps, navigated through the throng and joined protesters at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, which along with the county justice center has been the target of vandalism and spray paint.
Before the mayor joined those in front of the federal building, the crowd had thrown bags of trash and other items over a perimeter protecting it, and then shot fireworks at the building, setting small fires.
Videos of the mayor showed him near the perimeter when tear gas was deployed and then later leaving the protest altogether, entering a nearby building as his security team scuffled with a few protesters.
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