Skip to main content

Protesters are asked: What will it take?

July 24, 2020

U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer, joined by two other members of Congress, filed three amendments to the 2021 appropriations bills for Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, in an effort to defund the agencies' ability to use the protection of federal property to justify their presence in Oregon.

The protests that started in late May over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis yielded a groundswell of support for the Black Lives Matter movement across the United States. In Portland, that movement has fueled the sustained demonstrations.

Now, as local and federal police have deployed tear gas, pepper spray, flash bangs and other munitions against protesters, press and legal observers, some say the fight against police brutality hits closer to home.

Issues:Civil Rights