-
Protests hit Portland, Seattle hours after Biden inauguration
Los Angeles (AFP) - Protests struck Portland and Seattle just hours after US President Joe Biden's inauguration, police said Thursday, with Democratic Party and federal immigration offices vandalized and reports of tear gas and stun grenades used. The Pacific Northwest region emerged as a hotbed of demonstrations last year, but any hopes that the end of Donald Trump's term in office would quickly halt violent unrest tied to far-left groups were dashed Wednesday. Around 150 people vandalized Oregon's Democratic Party offices Wednesday afternoon, before a similarly sized group descended on the f...
AFP
-
New York attorney general sues NYPD over 'brutal' protest crackdown
New York (AFP) - New York state's attorney general sued the NYPD on Thursday, accusing America's largest police force of using "brutal" force during last year's massive Black Lives Matter protests. Letitia James said New York City police officers falsely arrested peaceful demonstrators, unlawfully detained legal observers and deployed "indiscriminate, unjustified" repeated use of batons and pepper spray. James, a Democrat, added that the actions "led to significant injuries and violated individuals' basic right to peacefully protest." Tens of thousands of people marched in New York in May and ...
AFP
-
Trump tells supporters to 'stay peaceful' as protesters storm Capitol
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump called for "peaceful" protests on Wednesday after his supporters stormed the Capitol following a rally during which he urged Congress to reject Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement," Trump said on Twitter more than an hour after protesters breached a security cordon. "They are truly on the side of our Country," Trump said. "Stay peaceful!" The president tweeted again more than half an hour later as stunning scenes played out at the Capitol, with his supporters swarming the building and lawmake...
AFP
-
Portland protesters burn flags on tense US election night
Portland (AFP) - Demonstrators burned US flags and marched through Portland armed with protest songs and assault rifles as a confusing election night unfolded to high tension but without violence in the northwestern city.The liberal enclave in the state of Oregon had braced for possible armed clashes after months of divisive rallies involving left-wing activists, right-wing militias and federal officers deployed by the Trump administration.As President Donald Trump claimed he won the US election early Wednesday, despite key states still counting ballots, activists gathered outside the Portland...
AFP
-
FBI warns of possible US election violence in protest-riven Portland
Portland (AFP) - The FBI has warned of the potential for armed clashes linked to Tuesday's US election in Portland, as the northwestern city that has become symbolic of the country's stark divisions braces for unrest.The liberal enclave in the state of Oregon is still reeling from a summer that saw mass anti-racism rallies inflamed by the arrival of federal officers and right-wing militias, including the so-called Proud Boys.Tuesday's fiercely polarized vote -- which could see President Donald Trump reelected, or defeated by his Democratic rival Joe Biden -- has spurred fears of more deadly st...
AFP
-
Anti-Trump women's rallies draw thousands across US
Washington (AFP) - Thousands took to the streets across the United States for women's marches on Saturday, many wearing pink protest hats while issuing fervent calls against President Donald Trump and his conservative Supreme Court pick.The rallies ahead of the November 3 election were inspired by the first Women's March in Washington, a huge anti-Trump rally held a day after his 2017 inauguration.In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demonstrations Saturday were considerably smaller, though protesters still turned out in cities across the country, according to organizers.More than 100,00...
AFP
-
Protesters topple Roosevelt, Lincoln statues in Portland
Los Angeles (AFP) - Protesters toppled two statues of former US presidents in the western state of Oregon, prompting President Donald Trump to call Monday for the demonstrators to be locked up and for federal intervention."Put these animals in jail, now," Trump said in a series of tweets after learning of the statues of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln being felled Sunday night."The Radical Left only knows how to take advantage of very dumb 'leadership' fools," he added. "This is Biden! Law & Order!"The protesters, estimated at about 300 by police, had gathered in the city of Portland --...
AFP
-
US justice chief proposed charging protestors with sedition: reports
Washington (AFP) - US Attorney General Bill Barr told federal prosecutors that protesters demonstrating against police and racism could be charged with sedition, US media reported Wednesday.The Wall Street Journal said Barr, the country's top law enforcement official, told federal district attorneys in a conference call last week that a law against plotting to overthrow the US government was among charges they could use against participants in violent protests.Such a sedition charge has been used with extreme rarity and the most recent example, a case brought against a Michigan armed militia g...
AFP
-
Portland protests: Two dead on either side of divide
Portland (AFP) - One was a far-right activist, the other a member of the far-left Antifa movement. Both men paid with their lives after getting drawn into the anti-racism demonstrations that have shaken the US for the last three months.Aaron Danielson, 39, a supporter of a far-right group called Patriot Prayer, was fatally shot last weekend in Portland, Oregon after he joined pro-Trump supporters who descended on the western US city, sparking confrontations with Black Lives Matter counter-protesters.Five days later, the man suspected in the shooting, Michael Reinoehl, 48, was killed in the nei...
AFP
-
100 days of protests against police violence, racism in Portland
Portland (AFP) - Portland this weekend marks 100 days since protests erupted in the western US city to denounce police brutality and racism, shining a spotlight on a deeply polarized America as it prepares for high-stakes elections.The nightly protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis in May, escalated sharply in the Oregon city after the Trump administration deployed federal agents to protect federal property from damage.Floyd's death triggered similar protests nationwide, but it is in Portland -- a city of 650,000 that is more than 70 percent white...
AFP