Hands up protester, Justice Center, June 9
"Hands up" protester, Justice Center, June 9 Alex Zielinski

FINAL UPDATE 12:40 AM: "The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long." Fare the well, sweet Portland Autonomous Zone.

Meanwhile here's what the Autonomous Zone in Seattle is currently looking like. (Why can't we have nice things??)

The crowd in front of the Justice Center is quickly dwindling, and so we're calling it a night. To recap: The evening started with inspiring marches and speeches (and the inclusion of new events such as a bike ride and skateboard protest), and ended as it usually did in front of the Justice Center. Other than the dismantling of part of the Sacred Fence™ in front of the Federal Courthouse which was carried down the street and turned into an oh-so-temporary autonomous zone, which upset the cops enough to shoot pepper balls into the crowd randomly, it was the third calm night in a row. The moral we can take home tonight is that PROTESTS WORK. (Especially when paired with the threat of removing the majority of a police department's funding.) Thanks for joining us, as always, and we'll see YOU tomorrow!

UPDATE 12:15 AM: Happy Thursday, everybody! Such disrespect for The Fence™.

Would you like some pepper with your dance party?


And because you may (probably, most likely, almost certainly) will need it tonight... A SHORT FLASHBANG TUTORIAL.

UPDATE MIDNIGHT: Tensions are high at the fence—but currently it's a standoff.




Welcome to the revolution, comrades.

UPDATE 11:45 PM: Apparently protesters need some more fence for their new fence down the street. From the police livestream:

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Police Livestream Screen Shot

Yep, the police did not like that.


And yet?


Protesters don't seem intent on breaching THE FENCE™—even where it's down.

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Police Livestream Screen Shot

UPDATE 11:30 PM: When they tore down the fence and dragged it down the street, at first I wasn't sure... but you know what? Fencing can really pull a room together.


Are they talking about Fence Jr.?



UPDATE 11:15 PM: Protesters have raced off with part of the Sacred Fence™ and... ohhhhh... so this is how an autonomous zone is created....




And YAAAAAYYY! The police livestream is up! Follow it for yourself here.

Hellooooooo down there! Bring our fence back, please!
"Hellooooooo down there! Bring our fence back, please!" Police Livestream Screen Shot

UPDATE 11:00 PM: HEYYYYYY... WHO DARES CUT THE SACRED FENCE™?




Aaaaaand here come the munitions threats! Right on time. (Set your clocks everybody!)

Meanwhile, here's some champion protesting right here:

UPDATE 10:30 PM: We're solidly in the mid-evening doldrums, the hour when nothing could happen and everything could happen. So let's check in on those paper airplanes that protesters are sending over THE FENCE™.


A Justice Center mystery:

Here's the perfect thing to meditate on during the 10:30 doldrums:

Look, I'm in favor of a Portland "autonomous zone" as the next Antifa, but...

And in case you were wondering...

Meanwhile, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Twitter delivering a Trump bodyslam.

UPDATE 10 PM: Speaking truth in Unthank Park.



At the Justice Center, a new tactic from these very creative minds.

And now, also for those at the Justice Center, a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT from Mercury contributor, Tuck Woodstock.

Meanwhile in Oakland:

UPDATE 9:30 PM: Sergio has some good video of speeches from tonight's protest at Unthank Park—about how the area has been gentrified.

Meanwhile at the Justice Center, followers are flocking to... THE FENCE™.


And the news of Seattle's Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is spreading like wildfire.


Here's actual video of those Socialist Anarchist CHAZ terrorists in action! GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING!!!!

UPDATE 9 PM: A huge crowd of marchers arrive in Unthank Park after a long stroll from Revolution Hall.

And here's something you don't see every day at protests.

SIGNAL BOOST: Is this your wallet?

Okay, this is fucking infuriating (at the Black Girls Do Bike ride).

Meanwhile, back at the Justice Center:

And now... your first warning of the night: DON'T TOUCH THE SACRED FENCE!

Meanwhile in DALLAS, OREGON:

And in Virginia... it's official. "Racist down! I repeat, RACIST DOWN!"

UPDATE 8:30 PM: It took awhile, but Sergio finally found the end of the Rev Hall march!

Meanwhile, back at the Justice Center:


And just after I mentioned it in the last update, look what our dumb president tweeted:

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GO BACK TO SLEEP, SUSAN.

UPDATE 8 PM: The Rev Hall gang is making terrific time going down Williams toward Unthank Park.


Meanwhile in Seattle, have you been hearing all the hullabaloo about the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (AKA CHAZ)? It's a six block area on Cap Hill that has no police presence—AND I WANT ONE OF MY OWN!



Meanwhile in Virginia (AKA the capitol of the Confederacy):

UPDATE 7:30 PM: Let's check in on the Justice Center where our Blair Stenvick is on the scene.

The Rev Hall gang is BIG tonight.

Plaid Pantry politics.


Meanwhile, at the Black Girls Do Bike ride:

And look! Video from the skateboard protest!


UPDATE 7:15 PM: Our Sergio Olmos is following the Rev Hall gang (thousands of 'em!) on their march over to Unthank Park.

Meanwhile... here's a fun scene from Irving Park's bike protest ride.

NEWS BREAK: According to the Oregonian, there are a total of EIGHT lawsuits filed against Portland's police (so far) "claiming battery and unnecessary use of force" over the past two weeks. Simply put, the city can't afford too much more of the cops' violent behavior.

Meanwhile over at City Hall, tons of concerned citizens are STILL testifying about cutting the police budget. Follow ace reporter (and occasional Mercury contributor) Tuck Woodstock for the latest details on that!

Meanwhile, waaaaay across the country in Boston, another Christopher Columbus statue goes down. This is quite the trend!

UPDATE 6:45 PM: Tonight's demonstrations are a smorgasbord of fun, including the regular kick off at Revolution Hall (with a march to North Portland's Unthank Park—another site of Portland gentrification), the nightly roundup at the Justice Center, as well as a SKATEBOARD march (skate?) around the Waterfront loop starting at 7 pm, and a bike ride for Justice at Irving Park.

Oh, and if you're out and about tonight, here's a place to rest and pee.

ORIGINAL POST, 6:30 PM: Welcome to the 14th day of protests against police brutality in Portland which, to say the least, has been a roller coaster of action and emotion, with a new surprise around every curve. If you're just joining us, last week marked almost daily violent reactions from police... until just two nights ago when Police Chief Jami Resch stepped down from her position and was replaced by Chuck Lovell, a Black lieutenant best know for being a Student Resource Officer at Jefferson High. Another sea change in the last two days? An outpouring of cries to defund part or all of the police department's budget from activists, city council members, political candidates, and to a lesser degree, the mayor himself.

Just to put a finer point on it, the wait time for public testimony today on the city's police budget was HOURS LONG and practically unanimous: They all wanted the police defunded to the tune of $50 million. A lot of people have skin in this game, and the sustained outrage and calls for change—both locally and nationally—has to be weighing heavily on police brass and how they will respond to nightly protests from here on out.

We shall see, and that's what we're here to do. The Mercury has been providing nightly coverage of these protests, particularly focusing on the police and their reactions to citizens exercising their First Amendment rights, and we're continuing tonight with our Blair Stenvick and videographer extraordinaire Sergio Olmos out in the field. Follow them both on Twitter for minute-to-minute updates, and this live blog for the big picture this evening. I'm Wm. Steven Humphrey, I've got a bottle of vodka, and I am FUCKING READY.

Stay tuned for regular updates, and LET'S DO THIS.