Violence Erupts Around Protests Across U.S. Weekend clashes occur as demonstrators press further against racism and police tactics by Douglas Belkin
https://www.wsj.com/articles/violence-erupts-around-protests-across-u-s-11595784837?mod=hp_lead_pos6
Large demonstrations turned violent around the country over the weekend as tens of thousands of Americans continued a monthslong wave of civil unrest protesting racism and police tactics.
Seattle protesters hurled rocks and explosives at police officers during violent confrontations near the police department’s East Precinct station on Saturday. Dozens of people were arrested and 59 officers were injured, including many with burns and abrasions, according to police. The explosives also caused structural damage to the station, the officials said.
In Portland, Ore., where protesters have been marching for more than 50 days, thousands of demonstrators—some wearing gas masks and carrying shields, leaf blowers and hockey sticks—gathered outside the U.S. Courthouse, police officials said. Some in the crowd threw rocks and fireworks before breaking through a section of reinforced fence surrounding the building.
In Austin, Texas, a protester was fatally shot during a Black Lives Matter gathering near the state capitol.
Protests have taken place across the U.S. after the May 25 death of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis. But many marches grew in size and intensity over the weekend, and focused on what demonstrators say is overreach by local and federal officers in Portland and other cities. At some events, protesters carried guns.
Police officials in Portland and Seattle declared some demonstrations in their cities “riots” and used pepper spray and other crowd-control tools to disperse gatherings. Both police departments were bracing for more confrontations with protesters on Sunday.
President Trump sent federal agents to Portland earlier this month and is now sending federal resources into other cities to quell protests and suppress surges in crime. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, has denounced the tactics of federal officers in his city and was tear-gassed last week while joining protesters.
Most of the agents have been sent to large cities run by Democrats. The officers have raised alarms among some mayors and governors, some of whom have criticized the plan as an attempt to shore up Mr. Trump’s base as he trails presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in national polls.
In Chicago, protesters have demonstrated outside of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s house after she recently accepted federal help to fight escalating gun violence. Ms. Lightfoot, a Democrat, drew a distinction between law-enforcement assistance that would help fight crime, which she welcomed, and federal troops aimed at policing protests.
“I have drawn a very hard line. We will not allow federal troops in our city. We will not tolerate unnamed agents taking people off the street, violating their rights, and holding them in custody,” Ms. Lightfoot told CNN on Sunday. “That’s not happening here in Chicago.”
Mr. Trump has made law-and-order a focal point of his re-election campaign. Mr. Biden has decried federal law-enforcement actions in Portland.
Omar Wasow, a professor of politics at Princeton University who has researched the political impact of violence in civil-rights campaigns, said the narrative of which side is creating the violence at protests has important consequences for the election.
So far, protesters have drawn the bulk of sympathy and support as some police have been recorded on video responding to protests against excessive force with more excessive force. But if that changes and protesters are seen as being the aggressors, they could lose public sympathy. “If we see growing violent resistance by protesters, that often becomes a justification for more repression by the state,” Dr. Wasow said. “In the past, the public tends to make sense of the violence on both sides as an escalating crime wave.”
Police departments around the country Sunday were still investigating incidents from earlier in the weekend.
The slaying in Austin occurred Saturday night when a car turned onto a street with protesters, who then surrounded and started striking the vehicle, police officials said. Garrett Foster, a protester carrying a long gun, was fatally shot by the driver after he approached the car, the officials said. Mr. Foster may have pointed his weapon at the driver before the shooting, according to the officials.
The driver was detained and was cooperating in the investigation, the officials said. Another individual at the protest was also detained for firing a gun at the driver after the initial shooting, the officials said.
In Aurora, Colo., on Saturday, a blue Jeep drove through a group of several hundred protesters as they walked on Interstate 225, according to police, a video posted on Twitter and local media reports. A protester fired a weapon, striking two people. Both were taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition.
Also in Aurora, protesters broke windows at a courthouse and started a fire, according to Aurora Police.
In Louisville, Ky., members of two rival militias faced off on Saturday but didn’t engage in violence, according to local media reports. A member of one of the militias, which had traveled from Atlanta, accidentally discharged a gun, injuring three members of the group, police said. All three were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“This is a tragic situation that could have been much worse,” Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert Schroeder said. “I encourage anyone choosing to exercise their Second Amendment rights to do so responsibly.”
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