On the evening of the 4th of November, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office shared photos of shattered glass doors at the entrance to Saint André Bessette Catholic Church, located in Old Town Portland.

Sometimes known as the “Downtown Chapel,” Saint André Bessette has occupied several locations in the downtown Portland area since 1919. The present location, which the church has occupied since 1971, includes a drop-in centre, a kitchen, and showers and washing machines for the homeless.

According to police, two protest groups met in separate locations on Wednesday evening and then marched through Portland. A group of about one hundred people moved along West Burnside Street, breaking windows as they passed.

Police in Portland classified the protest on Wednesday night as a riot and arrested at least eleven people. One of the individuals arrested had a rifle, several magazines of ammunition, an improvised explosive device, a knife and spray-paint cans, police said.

Governor Kate Brown also engaged the Oregon National Guard to assist with suppressing the riot. Brown released a statement on the 5th of November condemning the violence, specifically mentioning the damage done to St. André’s by a “group of self-styled anarchist protesters…with no discernible goal other than to cause violence and vandalism.”

Source: CNA

Photo: Twitter/Jennifer Dowling