Kyle Rittenhouse verdict: 'Riot' declared in Portland due to vandalism, mob breaks windows

Police in Portland, Oregon, declared a ‘riot’ in the downtown area after the protests escalated into vandalism, arson, and hurtling projectiles following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, an 18-year-old White teenager who shot dead two, and critically wounded the third with a firearm during the racial unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. After the judge’s Friday verdict that cleared the teen of the murder charges, demonstrations against the so-called ‘biased verdict’ erupted near the Multnomah County Justice Center in the city of Portland, Oregan, wherein largely Black masses expressed angst at the fact that the White teen Rittenhouse was acquitted despite that he claimed lives.

Even as Rittenhouse shot at 3 white men, the incident occurred during the Black Lives Matter #BLM movement against the shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake by the White cop. 

Nearly 200 protesters, late evening yesterday, smashed the windows, and propelled objects at the law enforcement officers as the protests turned volatile and destructive, the Portland police revealed on Nov 20. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office declared the protest of around 200 people to be “a riot” as it released an official statement saying that around 9 p.m. the crowd turned “violent and destructive" and at least one was arrested.

Protesters attacked the police officers by pelting objects and damaged the gate to the city's Justice Center, where the police precinct and a detention center are located. Footages now circulating on social media show law enforcement officers in riot gear and protesters clashing in Portland as anti-police slogans grew louder, and protesters yelled: "Kyle is a terrorist.”

“A crowd has gathered near SE 2nd Avenue and SE Madison Street and participants have begun breaking windows and damaging doors of city facilities in the area. People are throwing objects at police officers in the area,” Portland police tweeted. 

Protests turned 'hostile,' threw 'urine, alcoholic beverages, water bottles, and batteries' at officers

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office member Chris Liedle told KOIN TV that the protesters had turned "hostile" as they threw "urine, alcoholic beverages, water bottles, and batteries" at the officers. They then set the trash and debris in the street ablaze and threatened to burn down Portland’s Justice Center, KOIN TV reported. While the officers warned the crowd to back off and disperse or risk detention, the crowd turned unruly and the cops were forced to use "pepper spray and impact weapons,” according to KOIN TV. 

Protests against the Rittenhouse verdict also spread to other parts of the United States including Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles (LA). A 1,000-strong crowd marched in a rally organized by 'Black Lives Matter,' in Chicago with the placards emblazoned with slogans that read: "Stop White Supremacy’ and ‘We’re hitting streets to protest racist injustice system," Chicago Tribune reported.

Many protesters carried banners portraying the image of Rittenhouse with a firearm. At a rally in Federal Plaza ahead of the movement march, Tanya Watkins, executive director of Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, said in the loudspeaker: “I am not surprised by yesterday’s verdict, I am tired. I am disappointed. I am enraged. I have lost every ounce of faith in this justice system.” 

In North Carolina, protesters gathered near the state Capitol building to protest the verdict. Around 4 people quickly swelled to 75 of them by 5:15 p.m. as they chanted in unison, “No justice, no peace!” and “Abolish the police!” the Raleigh News & Observer reported from the ground. The angry demonstrators blocked the traffic, restricting the driveway for passers-by trapped in their cars that honked in support of the protesters. A woman meanwhile rolled down the windshield and yelled in bullhorn: “Self-defense is not a crime.” Protesters were heard yelling, ”What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” As they flashed banners “Kyle Rittenhouse is a fascist right-wing murderer,” and “We the people find him guilty.”