Portland police clash with projectile-throwing protesters

Portland police once again tangled with protesters Friday night with officers ordering certain groups to disperse, claiming they were throwing objects at cops, several news outlets reported.

Paint bombs and other projectiles were being aimed at police, officers said. So cops blocked a crowd of marchers in North Portland and declared it an unlawful assembly, ABC News reported Saturday.

Anyone who ignored the order faced arrest or being tear-gassed, police said

Officers also shoved people, shot them with impact munitions and set off smoke devices after protesters threw water bottles and paint at the cops, the Oregonian reported.

Early Thursday morning, protesters set fires and exploded commercial-grade fireworks outside the downtown federal courthouse, ABC News reported. Several officers were injured and two people were arrested.

Demonstrations, which often include violence, vandalism and arson, have occurred on almost a nightly basis in Portland since the killing of George Floyd, a black man, who died in Minneapolis after a policeman pressed a knee to his neck.