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