Oakland, Calif. police declared a Saturday protest an unlawful assembly after “agitators” set fire to a courthouse and vandalized a police station.
The Oakland Police Department declared a demonstration that gathered about 700 people total as an “unlawful assembly” shortly after 11:30 p.m. local time.
The “unlawful assembly” designation came after some protesters set fire to the Alameda County Superior Courthouse, and others broke windows and spray painted a police station, the police department tweeted. Oakland police also said demonstrators were shooting fireworks and pointing lasers at officers and helicopters.
Police said multiple small fires were set, and several people were arrested.
Before declaring the gathering unlawful, police had used Twitter to ask organizers and demonstrators “to keep the protest peaceful.” Officers also reported protesters were aiming racial slurs at residents.
“We are calling for peace and to have safe spaces and safe places for tonight’s demonstration,” the police department tweeted.
The department shared videos of a person knocking over a barricade by the police station and a sign warning that chemicals were going to be deployed.
The protests stretched several blocks, with marchers standing in solidarity with Portland, Ore. demonstrators and Black Lives Matter, CBS SF BayArea reported. The police station was also covered in graffiti, according to the news outlet.
Several cities broke out in protests after federal authorities were sent to quell demonstrations in Portland that have continued since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Federal law enforcement have reportedly used tear gas on and detained protesters.
On Saturday, protesters in Portland continued to clash with law enforcement in front of a federal courthouse. The Portland Police Department declared a riot in the city early Sunday after several demonstrators knocked down fencing outside the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse.
President Trump said last week he plans to send federal authorities to Chicago and other U.S. cities to combat the protests.