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Inside the Battle for Downtown Portland

Night after night, calm gave way to chaos. See how the clashes between federal agents and protesters unfolded.

Photographs by Mason Trinca

These photographs were taken over the course of a week of protests in Portland.

Scenes of billowing tear gas, burning fires and federal agents in riot gear have made Portland a national flash point and spurred debate over the authority of the federal government to respond to protests. Often missing from that debate was a full picture of what was happening on the ground.

As negotiations continue over when the agents will leave the city, here’s a look at how many recent nights of protest and confrontation have unfolded.

portland_mt_146.jpg

The clashes with federal officers were largely confined to a two-block stretch of downtown Portland. The mood tended to follow a predictable pattern, with large, peaceful gatherings in the evening turning to chaos later at night.

The map below shows the general extent of major downtown protests.

SW TAYLOR ST.

Office

building

Office

building

Parking garage

Salmon Street

Springs fountain

SW SALMON ST.

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

Multnomah County

courthouse

Willamette

River

SW MAIN ST.

HIGHWAY 99 WEST

SW SECOND AVE.

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW FIRST AVE.

Tom McCall

Waterfront Park

Chapman

Square

Multnomah County

Justice Center

City of Portland

office building

SW MADISON ST.

HAWTHORNE BRIDGE

200 FEET

Federal

office building

Terry Schrunk Plaza

(federally owned)

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

SW TAYLOR ST.

Salmon Street

Springs fountain

SW SALMON ST.

County

courthouse

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

Willamette

River

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

SW SECOND AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW FIRST AVE.

Tom McCall

Waterfront Park

Chapman

Square

Justice

Center

SW MADISON ST.

HAWTHORNE BRIDGE

Terry

Schrunk Plaza

(federally owned)

Federal

office building

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

200 FEET

Tom McCall

Waterfront Park

SW SALMON ST.

Federal

courthouse

County

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

SW THIRD AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

Chapman

Square

Justice

Center

SW FIRST AVE.

SW MADISON ST.

Federal

office

building

Federal

park

City

Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

200 FEET

Much of the recent activity focused on the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, a high-rise structure of limestone and glass to which the Trump administration dispatched federal agents for protection in early July, after a month of continuous demonstrations.

Typically, confrontations flared up at night, with protesters setting fires and attempting to climb or cut down a fence that surrounds the courthouse.

portland_264.jpg

But the area was much quieter during the day.

portland_307b.jpg

People driving on Southwest Third Avenue slowed as they passed the courthouse, staring at the vandalized building and occasionally honking their support for the protests.

Portland’s daily demonstrations against police violence have been among the longest-running in the country since George Floyd was killed by the police in May.

portland_304b.jpg

Lownsdale Square, one of three parks across the street from the courthouse, served as the primary staging area for the protests.

SW SALMON ST.

SW THIRD AVE.

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

County

courthouse

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

Tom McCall

Waterfront Park

Justice

Center

Chapman

Square

City of Portland

office building

SW MADISON ST.

SW SECOND AVE.

Federal

office

building

SW FIRST AVE.

Terry Schrunk Plaza

(federally owned)

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

200 FEET

SW SALMON ST.

SW THIRD AVE.

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

County

courthouse

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

Justice

Center

Chapman

Square

City of Portland

office building

SW MADISON ST.

SW SECOND AVE.

Federal

office

building

Terry Schrunk Plaza

(federally owned)

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

During the day, the park resembled a campsite. Volunteers served free food and handed out water bottles and medical supplies from a cluster of tents, and a small homeless encampment was staged nearby. Police cleared the park on Thursday.

portland_mst_504.jpg

Protesters relaxed near a tall monument in the center of the park, repurposed as a canvas for protest graffiti. Gawkers and journalists circulated, while construction workers nearby patched damage from the previous night.

d-portland_mst_507.jpg

Southwest Main Street runs along the southern edge of Lownsdale Square. A circular patch in the middle of the road marks where a statue of an elk stood before fires set by protesters damaged its base and it was removed.

portland_301.jpg

On the other side of Lownsdale Square, Southwest Salmon Street leads to a fountain in a large riverfront park a few blocks away.

The fountain was an early gathering point for protesters most evenings. The crowd listened to music and speeches, chanted slogans and waved protest signs.

portland_311b.jpg

Eventually the crowd would begin to walk up Salmon Street toward the courthouse and the Multnomah County Justice Center, which houses a jail and the Portland Police headquarters.

Willamette

River

Salmon Street

Springs fountain

SW SALMON ST.

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

SW MAIN ST.

Tom McCall

Waterfront Park

SW FOURTH AVE.

Justice

Center

Chapman

Square

SW MADISON ST.

HAWTHORNE BRIDGE

SW SECOND AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW FIRST AVE.

Terry

Schrunk Plaza

(federally owned)

Federal

office building

200 FEET

SW SECOND AVE.

Salmon Street

Springs fountain

SW SALMON ST.

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

SW THIRD AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

Tom McCall

Waterfront Park

SW FOURTH AVE.

Justice

Center

Chapman

Square

SW MADISON ST.

Federal

office building

Federal

park

SW FIRST AVE.

200 FEET

On recent nights, a group of mothers in yellow shirts calling themselves the “Wall of Moms” led the three-block march. This week, the group faced debate over its leadership, which had been primarily white, and questions about whether its main focus was opposing the federal presence or supporting Black Lives Matter.

d2-portland_mst_515.jpg

The Justice Center, which neighbors the federal courthouse, drew protesters for weeks before federal officers arrived in Portland. Protesters set a fire inside the building on the night of May 29, four days after Mr. Floyd was killed.

d-portland_303.jpg

On more recent nights, activists stood on the steps in front of the building and delivered speeches to the crowd.

d-portland_254.jpg

This stage of each evening tended to be peaceful. Later, protesters shifted their focus to the federal building and the clashes that broke out there.

d-portland_mst_526.jpg

Protesters have focused on the courthouse since the protests began in late May. But the size and intensity of those gatherings have grown since federal authorities arrived in the city.

portland_mt_121.jpg

A fence that federal officers erected around the courthouse on July 22 became a site of grievance. City officials have fined the federal government more than $200,000 for keeping up the fence, which blocks a bike lane.

portland_253.jpg

Protesters tried to pull the fence down, and used power tools to try to disassemble it.

As most nights wore on, agitated protesters would shake and bang on the fence, throw water bottles and fireworks over it and set small fires inside.

portland_318.jpg

Federal authorities fired tear gas to keep the crowd away from the fence. The clouds of gas could drift for several blocks, even as far as the waterfront park where the protests had begun. Last week, inmates at the Justice Center said the gas had wafted into their cells, causing panic.

The map below shows where New York Times journalists observed tear gas deployed.

SW TAYLOR ST.

Office

building

Office

building

Parking garage

SW SALMON ST.

Blue shows

federal property

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

County

courthouse

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW SIXTH AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

Federal

courthouse

Chapman

Square

Justice

Center

City of Portland

office building

SW SECOND AVE.

SW FIRST AVE.

SW MADISON ST.

Terry Schrunk Plaza

(federally owned)

Federal

office building

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

200 FEET

SW TAYLOR ST.

SW SALMON ST.

Blue shows

federal property

County

courthouse

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

SW SIXTH AVENUE

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

Justice

Center

Chapman

Square

Federal

courthouse

SW MADISON ST.

SW SECOND AVE.

SW FIRST AVE.

Federal

office

building

Federal

park

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

200 FEET

SW SIXTH AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW SALMON ST.

County

courthouse

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

SW MAIN ST.

County

Justice

Center

Chapman

Square

SW MADISON ST.

Federal

courthouse

Federal

office

building

Federal

park

City Hall

200 FEET

A federal court order in June limited the situations in which city police could use tear gas. But the order does not apply to federal officers.

Each wave of gas would winnow the crowd of protesters, leaving behind a smaller, more hardened group.

portland_mt_221.jpg

On some nights, federal officers and city police rushed out of the courthouse to physically clear protesters from the fence, firing pepper balls, rubber bullets and more tear gas.

portland_mt_229.jpg

They flushed protesters out of the parks and sometimes made arrests in the streets.

portland_mt_185.jpg

Legal experts have questioned how far federal agents are allowed to chase protesters beyond the boundaries of the federal property they were sent to protect. The state lost its bid to restrict how federal agents were operating on Portland’s streets, but several other challenges are still making their way through the courts.

New York Times journalists witnessed federal forces range as far as three blocks away from the Hatfield Courthouse.

SW TAYLOR ST.

Office

building

Office

building

Parking garage

SW SALMON ST.

Blue shows

federal property

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

County

courthouse

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW SIXTH AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

Federal

courthouse

Chapman

Square

Multnomah County

Justice Center

City of Portland

office building

SW SECOND AVE.

SW FIRST AVE.

SW MADISON ST.

Terry Schrunk Plaza

(federally owned)

Federal

office building

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

200 FEET

SW TAYLOR ST.

SW SALMON ST.

Blue shows

federal property

County

courthouse

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

SW FOURTH AVE.

SW THIRD AVE.

SW SIXTH AVE.

SW FIFTH AVE.

SW MAIN ST.

County

Justice Center

Chapman

Square

Federal

courthouse

SW MADISON ST.

SW SECOND AVE.

SW FIRST AVE.

Federal

office

building

Federal

park

City Hall

SW JEFFERSON ST.

200 FEET

SW THIRD AVE.

SW SIXTH AVE.

SW SALMON ST.

County

courthouse

Federal

courthouse

Lownsdale

Square

SW MAIN ST.

County

Justice

Center

Chapman

Square

Federal

courthouse

SW MADISON ST.

Federal

office

building

Federal

park

City Hall

200 FEET

Nights would end after most protesters were cleared from the area and the federal agents had retreated to the courthouse.

President Trump, who used images of the clashes in campaign ads, said Portland would be lost without federal intervention, and vowed to “dominate” the protesters. Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon argued that the agents’ presence was a worrying sign of federal overreach that would lead to greater violence.

Ms. Brown and administration officials negotiated the withdrawal of federal agents from the city, but some officials insisted that the forces would remain until federal buildings in the city were secure.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump renewed his criticism of Ms. Brown and her handling of the protests: “We will not be leaving until there is safety!”

portland_mt_161.jpg