Portland police declare riot; statues toppled, windows smashed in ‘Day of Rage’

PORTLAND, Ore (KTVZ) — Police declared a riot in downtown Portland on Sunday night after a large group of demonstrators marched through the South Park Blocks, toppling statues of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and breaking windows.

KGW reported protesters met under the Burnside Bridge and marched to the South Park Blocks for what they called an “Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage.” A social media post called for an end of colonialism and the abolishment of police.

Around 8:40 p.m., police tweeted that a "mass gathering" had formed at Southwest Park Avenue and Southwest Madison Street, where they were trying to pull down a statue with a chain. Police said anyone involved in "criminal behavior, including vandalism" was subject to arrest.

The statue in that area is of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback. According to the city of Portland's website, "the statue entitled Theodore Roosevelt - Rough Rider portrays the colonel in the actual uniform and accoutrements he wore in his famous ascent of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War." 

Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Sergio Olmos tweeted that the statue was taken down.

The group also toppled a statue of Abraham Lincoln nearby, according to Olmos.

After downing the statues in the Park Blocks, members in the crowd began smashing windows at the Oregon Historical Society and Portland State University campus security office and defaced a mural at the Oregon Historical Society, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Monday is the federally observed holiday of Columbus Day, but many states and cities now recognize the day instead as Indigenous Peoples Day over concerns that Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas helped launch centuries of violence against indigenous populations.

This time, the newspapers said, organizers had signaled their aggressive stance for the night, calling for “direct action” and demanding that the video live-streamers and photographers who had become staples of such events stay away