Armed anti-shutdown protesters use bear spray, force way into Oregon capitol, cops say
Armed anti-shutdown protesters stormed a “mostly empty” Oregon Capitol building Monday to fight against coronavirus restrictions, according to reports from news media and the state police.
Gov. Kate Brown called the special legislative session to extend the state’s eviction moratorium, compensate landlords and allocate money to Oregon’s COVID-19 response, according to The Oregonian.
Protesters prompted by a right-wing group called Patriot Prayer pushed their way into the building, The Oregonian reported.
They chanted “let us in” and “arrest Kate Brown,” according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Some protesters were armed, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Troopers were sprayed with “some kind of chemical agent” at least twice, Oregon State Police said in a news release. Protesters entered the capitol building, and police used an inert pepper ball to deter the protesters, according to the news release.
“At one point we used pepper balls. I don’t know what else,” Lt. Teven Upkes of Salem Police told the Statesman Journal. “When people attempted to come into the building they actually used pepper spray and other things on officers.”
According to its manufacturer, a Pepper Ball releases a 12-foot cloud of “pharmaceutical-grade PAVA pepper powder” which affects the eyes, nose, throat and chest. The effects stop after about 15 minutes, the company says.
When police tried to push the crowd out of the building, protester Ryan Lyles, 41, allegedly used bear spray against police, the Oregon State Police said. He has been charged with trespassing and assaulting a police officer.
The confrontation lasted at least an hour, according to the Statesman Journal. The building is currently closed because of coronavirus restrictions. Two people refused to leave and were later taken into custody, Oregon State Police said.
Oregon State Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly and ordered all people to leave the mall grounds, according to a tweet. Anyone who did not leave was subject to arrest.
“OSP encourages people to exercise their first amendment rights, but it must be done lawfully,” Oregon State Police said. “If you commit a crime you will be subject to arrest.”
Democratic State Sen. Shemia Fagan from Portland passed through the hallway near protesters and said the confrontation was “unnerving,” according to the Statesman Journal.
“It doesn’t feel normal,” Fagan told the news outlet. “And it feels really sad.”