Authorities reinstated fencing around the Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland on Sunday, days after it was removed due to continued protests and vandalism around the complex.
Almost immediately after the fencing was removed on March 8, the building was vandalized again by protesters who occupied the city’s downtown area following demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustices emerged last summer and continued for months, a local CBS outlet reported.
On Friday, antifa protesters set fires outside the courthouse and clashed with authorities, burned U.S. flags, and stormed a bank.
Recent protests have led Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler to call for an additional $2 million in funding for law enforcement after he moved to cut police funding last year following protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a former officer knelt on his neck for around nine minutes.
Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin began a preliminary jury selection process for his trial this month over his alleged second- and third-degree murder charges related to Floyd’s death. The advent of his trial and the undetermined outcome could inspire further protests from Black Lives Matter supporters and activists in the county.
Saturday evening, protesters showed up at the courthouse site for a vigil honoring Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was killed during a no-knock warrant raid at her house in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020.
Portland’s barriers were removed as a symbolic gesture to help the city return to calm and normalcy after riots outside the courthouse led to $1.5 million in repair damages, according to the Oregonian.
Fencing around the courthouse was initially put up during the summer by the Department of Homeland Security against the wishes of the city, which filed a cease-and-desist letter in July and said the Portland Bureau of Transportation would fine the federal government $500 for every 15 minutes the fence remained standing.
Homeland Security said in October that the financial penalties imposed by the Transportation Bureau and Bureau of Environmental Services were unlawful, citing the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.
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The Washington Examiner reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security but did not immediately receive a response.
