SEATTLE — Authorities say a group of about 150 people broke windows, stole from businesses and started fires in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood Wednesday night.
The group gathered at Cal Anderson Park around 9 p.m. and walked through the neighborhood in what started out a peaceful march. But along the way, a group shattered the windows of a business and started a fire inside, which city firefighters extinguished.
Police say the group then smashed windows and broke into another business. Authorities say they took merchandise from a vintage store, put it in the street and lit it on fire.
Two banks were also damaged. Police apparently observed the incidents closely but did not arrest anyone.
Meanwhile in Portland, Oregon, the tense standoff between U.S. government agents and protesters extended into yet another day after the city’s mayor was tear-gassed outside a federal courthouse during a raucous demonstration.
Mayor Ted Wheeler and hundreds of others on Wednesday night objected to the presence of federal police sent by President Donald Trump, who called the demonstrators agitators and anarchists.
Wheeler was mostly jeered as he tried to rally demonstrators who have clashed nightly with federal agents. But he drew applause when he shouted “Black Lives Matter” and pumped his fist in the air.
Agents gassed Wheeler and others as protesters lit a fire outside a courthouse.