Federal buildings in Portland, Oregon, were closed on Friday with officials citing a “threat of violence in the area.”
The Portland office of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse were both shut down. The FBI said in a statement Friday that it was investigating whether the threat was credible.
Two FBI agents spoke with the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity about the details of the case. They say that the threat was received on Thursday and that it warned of an intent to use a car bomb to target a federal facility. The Oregonian reported a similar description, also from an anonymous source.
“If we develop information indicating a credible threat, we will notify the public,” the FBI said. “As always, we encourage people to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.”
Protests in the city have been ongoing since the death of George Floyd in late May. Floyd was a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody after a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. With those protests have also come bouts of violence. Federal agents were dispatched to Portland weeks ago in order to protect the federal courthouse.
