11 protesters arrested after blocking Portland railroad tracks

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police have arrested 11 protesters who had blocked railroad tracks in northwest Portland since Sunday and demanded local action in response to climate change.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the protesters were part of a local chapter of Extinction Rebellion, an environmental activist group based in the United Kingdom that has been staging climate demonstrations for about two weeks.

The Portland protesters had been occupying a small portion of track near a terminal owned by Zenith Energy, a Houston-based company that stores millions of barrels of crude oil, petroleum products and vegetable oils worldwide.

Protesters dumped topsoil and straw on the tracks Sunday and planted a garden.

The Portland Police Bureau says officers were called by the property owners and that after several warnings to leave, protesters were arrested on second-degree criminal trespass charges.