Yesterday I pointed out that the nightly riots in Portland were starting to earn the mob some bad feelings from neighborhoods and even a bit of bad press. Last night they decided to return to downtown and the scene of their greatest “victory,” the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse. Returning to their roots meant throwing fireworks and at least one Molotov cocktail at the courthouse and once again a riot was declared:

Protesters shifted back downtown Wednesday, joining other demonstrators who never left. The two groups have been divided over tactics, namely whether or not to confront police. Several activists implored the crowd not to draw out police. But other people threw things, set off fireworks and gathered outside a parking garage where drivers were waiting to exit near the Justice Center.

Portland police ultimately labeled the gathering a riot, then set off tear gas on the crowd. Police made multiple advances on the crowd, once pushing the crowd for more than seven blocks. State troopers joined Portland police during at least one of the pushes.

KOIN News reporters Hannah Ray Lambert and Jennifer Dowling were following the situation for most of the night and captured a lot of video from the scene. What follows is a rough breakdown of last night in rough chronological order.

A couple hundred people are gathered at the Justice Center & Federal Courthouse building. #koin6news #PDX #PNW #PortlandProtest #protests #Oregon pic.twitter.com/PKGvBtqYMK

— Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingKoin6) August 13, 2020

You may remember that the courthouse was a mess after weeks of protests and vandalism. But as of last night a lot of that had been cleaned up.

A view of the federal courthouse after cleanup efforts were underway. #koin6news #PNW #PDX #PortlandProtests #Oregon #protest pic.twitter.com/zHvCT4hk2i

— Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingKoin6) August 13, 2020

The night actually started with some BLM protesters telling the “opportunists” who just want chaos (Antifa) to go home.

Speeches at the Justice Center. This man has harsh words for "opportunists" who want to burn things or break into the buildings.

"Take your motherf***ing punk a** home. … We are tired of our people getting hurt behind your bullsh*t." pic.twitter.com/58BJGDyBhb

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

But there’s a clear division in the crowd between those who want to keep it peaceful and those who think the peaceful approach won’t accomplish anything. Notice she’s comparing these riots to Hong Kong and Belarus.

JC speakers let another demonstrator take the mic. He spoke out against "peace police."

"Us peacefully sitting in the park is not gonna bring change." pic.twitter.com/sMJ8ktdzQp

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

The difference of course is that those places are dictatorships where people have no rights of free speech or assembly. In Hong Kong you can be arrested and jailed for life for writing “Free Hong Kong” on social media. By contrast, Portland is one of the most liberal cities on the west coast. These people are seriously delusional.

The crowd continues to fill up the square. There might be as many as 400 folks here now. A decent bit of noise is now going opposite to the bullhorn speeches, which seem to be continuing on into eternity. pic.twitter.com/mDZTE5CGkG

— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) August 13, 2020

Someone burned a (fake?) pig head and a Trump flag:

Someone has lit a pig head aflame in front of the courthouse. Seconds later, someone else drops a Trump flag on top of it. pic.twitter.com/4wG9ZNgC6A

— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) August 13, 2020

Lambert said the pig head was fake:

Another fire, this one in front of fed courthouse. Another mortar just went off too. pic.twitter.com/2sfVcB17VE

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

Some kind of fight broke out. Reason? Who knows:

A couple groups are getting into a shoving match on SW 3rd & Salmon. #koin6news #PDX #PNW #Portland #Oregon #rosecity pic.twitter.com/xHYmpKwauD

— Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingKoin6) August 13, 2020

Back at the courthouse it was time to start throwing explosives:

LRAD warning people to stop participating in criminal activity near the courthouse. pic.twitter.com/MBdipdIOHa

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

The battle of the parking garage will be remembered forever, comrades:

Unlawful assembly declared. pic.twitter.com/6DnPfh1SkZ

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

Warnings were issued:

This little car is so loud. ##koin6news #PDX #PNW #Portland #Oregon #rosecity pic.twitter.com/UBKfN7yhOr

— Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingKoin6) August 13, 2020

Police move in to push the crowd back:

Pushing people to the parks. pic.twitter.com/Qy6v984vee

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

At some point around midnight a riot was declared and police ordered people to move north or west:

From several minutes ago. Paint, bottles and fireworks were thrown at police. Riot declared. Police used some sort of gas that knocked me out of commission for a while. Apologies to anyone watching the KOIN livestream. pic.twitter.com/wvG08oIkEv

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

There were several arrests including this one. Plus police got physical with a few people who wouldn’t clear the road:

Police and troopers were getting ready to leave when they got into a shoving match with some people. It looks like one trooper punched someone in the head (they were wearing a helmet). Then they pepper sprayed someone else. pic.twitter.com/mrvaRhcOA0

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

Here’s protest leader Demetria Hester haranging police with a bullhorn near the courthouse:

Very small group has returned to the police side of the Justice Center. Demetria Hester with the megaphone. Looks like the sheriff's office is here too. pic.twitter.com/cRGrhXXLPG

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

This sort of thing is what Hester spends a lot of her time doing. This next clip is not from last night it’s from early Tuesday morning. Hester is once again hectoring police. In this case she’s telling a line of officers that their wives are busy sleeping with other men while one of her comrades holds up a large dildo. She’s a class act.

I should probably throw a warning up on this, but if you couldn't see what they were holding… here it is. Demetria Hester telling troopers that their wives are cheating on them "with something of that size." Now she's back to telling them that their moms/families/kids hate them pic.twitter.com/etngjhhT1H

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 11, 2020

Back to last night. The mob is still fighting the battle of the police parking garage.

Most of the officers left, but this group has been standing in the garage for a longggggggg time. pic.twitter.com/v2AXyQtaSu

— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 13, 2020

And that’s about it. Another pointless riot but at least the mob won’t get bad press for disturbing suburban neighborhoods this time.