
Update, 11 pm:
After spending about half an hour occupying the Burnside Bride, folks are starting to call it a nightâand making plans for tomorrow:
Everyone is shouting âpioneer square 6 pmâ (I think this is an RSVP for tomorrow)
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Per Alex, there's a few people who seem set to stick around, but the majority of people are heading off the bridge. This night of protesting appears to have gone about as smoothly as could have been hoped forâno National Guard required. PPB is emphasizing how peaceful the protest is in their messaging.
It's time for the Mercury's live blog to say goodnightâchances are, we'll be back at it again tomorrow night. Huge kudos to Alex and Steve for being on the ground tonight.
And now, one last dance:
Actually Iâll leave you with this. pic.twitter.com/raRRQ7YWCJ
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Update, 10:30 pm:
The march from Pioneer Courthouse Square to Burnside Bridge was a musical one. From the Oregonian's Beth Nakamura:
A little Earth Wind and Fire for the crowd, now on the move. pic.twitter.com/H7izARuOBE
â Beth Nakamura (@bethnakamura) June 2, 2020
And it looks like Steve's made it to the bridge! More chanting of "Whose streets? Our streets!"
On the bridge. pic.twitter.com/EviOO5y948
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Also, I regret to inform you that someone with very poor manners and unfortunately foul language has temporarily hijacked the Mercury's Twitter:
Hey @foxnews, why don't you take some personal responsibility for yourself here? @TuckerCarlson, how about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and shooting your own fucking video? https://t.co/ik04RZuGvH
â Portland Mercury đ (@portlandmercury) June 2, 2020
(Just kidding, it was me. Fuck you, Tucker Carlson!)
Update, 10:15 pm:
We're on the move again! Folks are moving out of Pioneer Courthouse Square, and the plan is to occupy the Burnside Bridge next.
Moving now out of Pioneer Square. Follow along! pic.twitter.com/y1ZxTCM69W
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Also, we've got an Officer Debbie Downer on our hands:
Group of women of color pass police and thank them for being peaceful, one saying âTogether we will heal this!â
Reaponse: âYou are violating curfew.â
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Update, 10 pm:
The crowd of thousands has been hanging out at Pioneer Courthouse Square for about an hour nowâpeacefully.
Funny how you donât need riot gear to have a perfect evening. Guess we didnât need the National Guard after all. pic.twitter.com/KeWepEjvhv
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Meanwhile, police are hanging out in their little gated community fenced-in perimeter, telling anyone who walks by: "You are violating the curfew. Violation will make you a subject to arrest. Force will be used against you.â Alex is there observing:
Someone asks them if the Hawthorne bridge is open.
Officer: âTHE CITYWIDE CURFEW IS IN EFFECT.â
âYeah, we need to cross it to get home. Is it open?â
Officer: âI donât know. Please go home.â
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Update, 9:15 pm:
Pioneer Courthouse Squareâalso known as Portland's living roomâis the new spot to be:
This is just... wow. pic.twitter.com/uDVHcUzmKo
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Update, 9:08 pm
Buckle up, these updates are coming in hot! A couple other protestors made it past the fencing to speak with PPB officers furtherâthe basic message from police seems to be, stay away from the fenced-off area and things will be okay.
Okay, one of the guys returned and is telling folks what the police told him. Basically, donât go into the fenced area, donât break stuff, or else the police will respond. pic.twitter.com/ZTedBwHH5s
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Update, 9 pm:
Well, the conversation between the protestor and the PPB liaison appears to have fizzled out. Police still refuse to let people past the fencing around the 16-block area they closed earlier today.
The crowd is on the move again. We'll see which spot they settle on next.
On the move again. pic.twitter.com/aayrZNLMHS
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Update, 8:45 pm:
A PPB liaison has come out to speak with a protestor in front of the crowd.
Itâs Officer Matt Jacobson. âI want to have a dialog to make sure we keep this peaceful and safe for everyone.â he says. âBut I donât want to have this conversation on loudspeaker.â The protestor responds âBut Iâm here speaking for everyone, I am the voice of everyone here.â
Jacobson asks the crowd to âpartner with us to hold people accountable.â People in the crowd are getting antsy. They donât seem to be buying it.
Stay tuned for what happens next, and follow Alex on Twitter for the full play-by-play:
pic.twitter.com/7U0vM6m6Eq
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Officer says he need to protect the safety of 250 people jailed in the justice center (which is why he canât let group protest in front of it). âLet em out!â A guy yells.
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Meanwhile, a message from the sheriff about the Justice Center, which has been the target of protests in the last few days: "It's where we house adults in custody, and we are legally and morally responsible for their safety."
The Justice Center has been the focus of demonstrations in the past few days. It's perceived as a police-only building. In reality, the Justice Center is a small city, housing adults in custody & the staff that supports them. Help us keep them safe. #OneCommunityPDX pic.twitter.com/lk3GRrVBec
â Multnomah Co Sheriff (@MultCoSO) June 2, 2020
Update, 8:30 pm:
The protestorsâthousands of them in totalâhave all crossed over the Burnside Bridge into downtown now. They're making their way through downtown, and the crowd doesn't appear to have stopped at any one point yet.
At the fence at 4th and Salmon. pic.twitter.com/P6LP3LkYt3
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Woman is asking to have a conversation with the officer. Sheâs quieted the entire crowd, asking for their response. Everyone quiet, taking a knee. Waiting pic.twitter.com/ILG6cfDf2d
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Here's a look from Sky 8 of the thousands of protesters marching in downtown Portland.
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/BYkittRrad pic.twitter.com/x33tXKL4dH
â KGW News (@KGWNews) June 2, 2020
Here's a look from Sky 8 of the thousands of protesters marching in downtown Portland.
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/BYkittRrad pic.twitter.com/x33tXKL4dH
â KGW News (@KGWNews) June 2, 2020
Update, 7:55 pm:
The crowd from SE 13th and Stark has officially merged with the crowd from the Burnside Bridge, and now they're all heading into downtown.
Our own Steve and Alex are with them:
âBlack lives matter!â pic.twitter.com/C7xnFon0MR
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Vibe: pic.twitter.com/wHpJHhFlJm
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Update, 7:40 pm:
The crowd marching from the Eastside is just starting to arrive at the Burnside Bridge, where they'll link up with the other protest crowd. Here's a shot of the front of the line from Alex:

And our own Wm. Steven Humphrey has just arrived at the west side of the Burnside Bridge. Here's the view from there:
On the Burnside Bridge, tweeting for @portlandmercury. Hi! pic.twitter.com/km2fjzchGf
â Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) June 2, 2020
Update, 7:25 pm:
The crowd on the Burnside Bridge is getting biggerâreportedly over a thousand people are now there blocking traffic. Speakers are set to begin soon.
Meanwhile, the group at SE Stark and 13th has started a march of their own:
pic.twitter.com/wcuvsoRIt2
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Update, 7:15 pm:
Protestors reportedly lay down on the Burnside Bridge for nine minutes of silenceâabout how long the Minneapolis police officer was kneeling on George Floyd's neck.
It's hard to tell exactly how many groups of protestors there are throughout the cityâthere's a big group at SE Stark and 13th, another group of hundreds at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and that group that was just marching over Burnside Bridge.
Per Alex, the group in front of Revolution Hall has been hanging out for a while, though there seem to be plans to head downtown at some point. Those who don't want to march are starting to head home. Think of it as a protest pregameâoh, and there's a parrot, too.
https://t.co/beBKnZFbUV pic.twitter.com/eIPadAYriH
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Update, 6:55 pm:
An update from the East side:
Okay, probably closer to 2k folks here now. No sign of police. pic.twitter.com/r8twPbvr2O
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
And an update from downtown, in Pioneer Courthouse Square:
Happening now at Pioneer Courthouse Square: Chants of "I Can't Breathe." (video by @bethnakamura) pic.twitter.com/UV25z7TQtz
â The Oregonian (@Oregonian) June 2, 2020
Update, 6:40 pm
The crowd in front of Revolution Hall is chanting "hands up, don't shoot" and "I can't breathe."
âHands up donât shoot!â pic.twitter.com/geXi8zOyHm
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Over on the other side of the Willamette, a couple hundred people are gathering in Pioneer Courthouse Square, per the Oregonian.
Meanwhile, PPB's Twitter presence has taken a rather chipper turn:

Update, 6:30 pm:
The crowd at SE 13th and Stark has quickly grown to over 1,000 people. And check out this view:
Views you can use. (Weâre outside Revolution Hall, btw) pic.twitter.com/mQJbdMK7yk
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Update, 6:20 pm:
Our own Alex Zielinski is at a "bloc party" at SE 13th and Stark, which appears to be a youth-friendly gathering:
There are easily 200 ppl here already. A lot of younger folks, making signs, waving at honking cars, etc. Thereâs a booth selling merch with contributions going to NAACP. pic.twitter.com/6yiYRar4Tm
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020
Meanwhile, a group of protestors is marching eastward from downtown on the Morrison Bridgeâperhaps to join up with the bloc party, though we aren't sure about that. Stay tuned.
Original Story, 6 pm:
Over the last three nights, Portland's seen varied protests against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
That's included a peaceful vigil in North Portland, a frenzy of broken windows, theft, burning banks, and tear gas downtown, and a large march of chanting demonstrators winding through Portland's Eastside. Here's the Mercury's live, on-the-ground coverage from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
TodayâMondayâwe've already seen police close blocks of downtown Portland in response to a protest there this afternoon. Also this afternoon: Gov. Kate Brown announced she'll send National Guard soldiers and Oregon State Troopers to Portland to provide backup to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).
With more protests planned for tonight, the Mercury staff will be bringing you more live updates from around the city. You can also follow us on Twitter.
Hey Portland, Iâll be covering George Floyd demonstrations tonight, starting on the eastside. Stay tuned!
â Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) June 2, 2020