Portland has begun preparation for the looming riots that are expected to once again devastate the Democrat-controlled Oregon city ahead of the critical November elections.
The city is building stainless-steel barricades to protect against violent political protests ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Portland is also forming a new crowd control police unit.
According to the Portland Tribune, the city has almost finished building seven large, hinged barricades that can drop down in front of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse’s west entrance.
The site faced large protests and sometimes violent riots for months following the drug overdose death of career criminal George Floyd in May 2020.
In a report, the U.S. Courts’ administrative office wrote:
“These measures are a first step toward hardening facilities and can be implemented relatively quickly when compared with more significant measures to redesign and renovate entrances, perimeter spaces, and interior public spaces, which will take more funding and longer to complete.”
Portland’s monthslong Floyd protests became national news in 2020.
Rioters began shooting projectiles including rocks, ball bearings, and industrial-grade fireworks at the building.
The attacks caused $1.6 million in damages, Axios reported.
Following the 2020 protests, the Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) previous crowd control team.
The city also faced lawsuits.
Some community members even received settlements after their homes were caught in clouds of police tear gas during the response to the violent riots.
The new barricades resemble airplane hangar doors with shielded screens on top, the Portland Tribune reported.
The project was estimated to cost $4.5 million and also includes renovations to the building’s entryways.
Additionally, the Portland City Council on Wednesday approved creating a new PPB crowd control unit.
Team members, who would respond to protests and other “public order events,” will receive a 6% pay raise.
The unit will cost taxpayers an additional $380,000 annually.
The new unit replaces the former Rapid Response Team.
The team’s approximately 50 members resigned in June 2021 after one of its officers was charged with assault over accusations that he struck a protester’s head with his baton in August 2020.
Portland’s Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler celebrated the new “Public Order Team” within PPB.
Wheeler said the unit is a “must-have” for Portland as Democrats are struggling heading into the election season.
