Tuesday I wrote about the mess that students at Portland State University had made after their takeover of the campus library. At the time, PSU President Ann Cudd had asked Portland police to help clear the library but there was no immediate action on her request. That delay to allow administrators time to negotiate was a mistake because it only gave the occupiers time to fortify their position.
The library, under occupation since Monday by pro-Palestinian protesters, now has been turned into a makeshift fortress.
Chairs are piled around the windows. Wood pallets are stacked next to the doors as fortifications. Next to what is normally a circulation desk, students have established a medic center, preparing for what might happen if police officers try to force their way in...
Inside the library on Tuesday, young people wearing black clothes and masks were moving furniture to build up the barricades around doors and windows. Others were sleeping at a rest station.
On a sheet of yellow paper, organizers had scrawled a list of needs, calling for water, vegan foods, radios, balaclavas, helmets and respirators. By midafternoon, two cars had pulled up with more wood pallets.
Today, police moved in and cleared the blockades set up for them.
Portland police took about four hours Thursday morning to clear out the people who remained inside Portland State University’s fortified library after pro-Palestinian protesters had occupied it for the last three days.
Police made 12 arrests, including four students, and used what they said was a “slow, methodical” approach to remove occupiers from the five-story Millar Library...
Police found improvised weapons inside the library, hollow bamboo sticks, paint-filled balloons, tubs of ball bearings and spray bottles full of ink that had a note on them indicating they were to be used against officers, Allen said. They also discovered paint on some of the floors, he said.
Police released this video showing the inside of the library which has been completely trashed. Floors are full of paint. Walls are full of graffiti. Furniture has been put in piles.
Portland Police clear Portland State University Library - May 2, 2024 pic.twitter.com/TKDnqYu1uY
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) May 2, 2024
A local news station spoke to an architecture student who was disappointed to see all the damage inside.
As the extent of the damage to the Portland State University’s Millar library comes into clearer view, architecture student T Priest is devastated at the loss of PSU’s library.
“This is going to cost thousands and thousands of dollars to replace things in there,” she said. “I’m very, very lucky to be able to get my education here and these resources are going to be dearly missed by people.”...
“We don’t have these resources anymore and it’s a huge hit to us because I don’t have access to the things in this building,” noted Priest. “It’s not up to code anymore so it’s going to be shut down for months. I don’t know when I’m going to get these back. I pay for this.”
Around 9 am, as police were making their way through the obstacle course, a bunch of the vandals decided to make a run for it, their faces covered to escape consequences. As you'll see in this clip, one of them ran straight into a Portland police officer and promptly got arrested.
Protesters flee PSU library as Portland police surround building https://t.co/rTfHvezGei pic.twitter.com/Q1iOSrJIk0
— FOX 12 Oregon (@fox12oregon) May 2, 2024
Early reports said there were 12 arrests but this tweet from the police bureau says the number is now up to 22.
PPB has arrested a total of 22 people during the events on the PSU campus.
— PPB Event Messages (@PPBAlerts) May 2, 2024
Mayor Ted Wheeler called the protesters "delusional."
“I, for the life of me, do not understand how terrorizing local business operators can possibly impact events in the Middle East,” Wheeler said at a Thursday press conference held at the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct. “If you believe that damaging those businesses or trashing a library on a university campus will impact events in the Middle East, then you are delusional.”
DA Mike Schmidt was on hand again promising to charge the protesters but I still don't believe it will ever happen.
“Once the evidence is collected and reviewed, my office is happy to provide updates as charges are issued and that information becomes available,” he said.
But what Schmidt’s office is able to charge protesters with remains a question. Although graffiti and property damage have been evident from photos and reporter visits to the library, tying specific individuals to specific crimes is going to take time and investigation.
“We’ll be looking at all kinds of evidence that we can gather, with cooperation from police, but things like video, photographic evidence, witness evidence, all of that will be taken into consideration,” he said.
The writing is on the wall, both literally and figuratively. Unless the vandals were stupid enough to film themselves destroying the library, they'll probably walk. I'd love to be wrong about that, though. Maybe the outrage will force him to do something besides give these creeps a pass.
