Iran Press/ America: Several hundred people rallied on Wednesday night around a federal building that houses US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in the city.
Protests that lasted until early Thursday, turned violent when police deployed tear gas and several riot vans, loaded with police, to the scene of the rally.
Early in the night on Wednesday, federal officers used pepper balls to push the protesters away from the federal building.
Protesters then returned to the ICE building and some of them broke several windows at the facility, spray-painted slogans, including "Kill ICE," on the building’s exterior walls, and shined laser lights at agents inside.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell declared the incident a 'riot' in a statement on Thursday.
"Tensions are running high in our city and it is important for everyone to know PPB (Portland Police Bureau) members are doing everything possible to prevent violence and criminal acts and investigate incidents that have already occurred," he said.
He said that protesters hurled rocks and bottles at agents who came out of the building and at police.
In another Portland protest that started late on Tuesday and lasted into early Wednesday, people broke out the windows of a county government building, sprayed lighter fluid inside, and set a small fire inside the facility.
Portland has been the scene of protests since George Floyd — unarmed African American — was killed at the hands of police in Minneapolis back in May.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly described Portland protests as 'lawlessness', and praised the role of federal law enforcement officers during the rallies.
Last month, he announced a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime. 207/209
Read more:
Several US Marshals injured by homemade weapons during Portland protests
Portland protesters put out fires as federal forces withdraw
New footage: US police ignore people's cries about Floyd's death
