Rioters clash with police, vandalise Democratic Party office in Portland

Anti-government and anti-fascist protesters in Portland and Seattle have vandalised a Democratic Party office and other buildings and clashed with police, protesting against President Joe Biden's inauguration.

Police in Oregon say a group of about 150 protesters marched through Portland late on Wednesday and damaged the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Oregon.

People dressed in black and with their faces covered broke windows and the glass door at the Democrat's business office, spray-painting an anarchist symbol over the party sign, video posted on social media showed.

"We don't want Biden. We want revenge for police murders, imperialist wars, and fascist massacres," read a banner they marched under.

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Several Inauguration protests

The new Democratic president was sworn in on Wednesday, urging unity and restoration after Republican Donald Trump's divisive tenure.

Police said eight arrests were made on suspicion of offences including rioting and reckless burning, while two people were arrested in Seattle, one for assault and another for property damage.

They said the group was among four protest events that gathered in Portland on Inauguration Day. Two were violent and the other two were peaceful.

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Abolish ICE protest

Hours later another protest took place, also in Portland.

A crowd of approximately 100 gathered in Elizabeth Caruthers Park at around 0500 GMT on Thursday, marching to an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

Surrounded by tight security measures of heightened law enforcement and fortifications on the Capitol building in the northwestern Oregon state, armed riots never materialised but demonstrations took place as protesters demanded more rapid policy changes from Biden.

The group chanted slogans protesting the US policies of detention of migrant children, while some individuals spray-painted "Reunite families now" onto the wall of the ICE federal building.

Police declared the gathering an "unlawful assembly" and told the crowd those who trespassed on the federal property would be arrested before they used tear gas and crowd control munitions several times, filling streets with thick smoke and arresting at least one person.

"Anyone who is involved in criminal behaviour including: vandalism and graffitiing is subject to arrest or citation," Portland Police wrote on Twitter.

Police Sgt Kevin Allen said in an update some individuals were seen carrying pepper ball guns, electronic control weapons similar to stun guns, shields and rocks.

Scene of unrest

Portland has been the scene of unrest for months, with civil rights, anarchist and anti-fascist protesters clashing with police and occasionally with right-wing militias and Trump supporters.

The protests began in the summer as part of nationwide demonstrations against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis in May after police pinned his neck to the ground for nearly nine minutes.

In Seattle, police said multiple sites had been vandalised and posted pictures of the damage, including what appeared to be of an Amazon Go store.

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