Seattle Protests: Fires and Pepper Spray as Thousands March Through City – The New York Times

clashed with police exterior of a federal creating, and in Aurora, Colo., in which a frantic scene played out as demonstrators marched along an interstate highway.

During that protest, a person drove a automobile into demonstrators, the Aurora Police Office reported, even though it was unclear if the automobile struck any protesters. The law enforcement claimed a protester had also “decided to fire off a weapon,” which struck at the very least one particular other particular person. That individual was taken to a clinic and was in secure affliction, the law enforcement stated, and a second particular person later showed up to the medical center with a graze wound.

In addition to marching in solidarity with the Portland protesters, the demonstration in Aurora was also in reaction to the dying of Elijah McClain, a 23-yr-outdated therapeutic massage therapist who died numerous days following officers set him in a chokehold past summer time.

Mr. McClain’s demise was a single of numerous that have occurred in police custody close to the state that obtained refreshing attention subsequent the dying of George Floydin Minneapolis in May well. The Floyd scenario ignited mass protests that drew thousands and thousands to the streets in dozens of towns, but the demonstrations waned in most destinations.

Seattle and Portland, even so, have noticed extended demonstrations. Seattle protesters at 1 stage laid declare to many blocks of the Capitol Hill neighborhood and declared an autonomous zone. Right after a sequence of shootings there led the police to clear the location, protests experienced subsided.

Protests in Portland, in the meantime, have continued, with some of the heaviest demonstrations all around federal buildings in the city. Immediately after President Trump issued an govt get to shield statues and federal residence, the Office of Homeland Safety deployed tactical groups to the metropolis, starting a sequence of clashes that have resulted in injured protesters, inspector normal investigations and phone calls from neighborhood leaders for federal brokers to leave.

Protest crowds in that town have swelled into the countless numbers, and demonstrations there were being continuing. This week, federal officials deployed a tactical team to Seattle, and protesters cited that improvement as a person rationale for Saturday’s demonstrations.