Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake:
Kaarin Knudson said she planned to meet Eugene’s police chief and other city leaders, after what she called “reckless actions” by Homeland Security officers who shot pepper balls and dispered chemical agents on Tuesday. A few dozen people were demonstrating again at the federal building on Wednesday.
Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson Wednesday urged protesters at the downtown federal building to gather across the street, “distant” from the building, while “temperatures remain high,” a day after crowds protesting federal immigration activity were met by federal officers who used chemical irritants and force to try to clear the area.
She addressed Tuesday evening’s events during a virtual City Council work session at noon Wednesday.
“I have real concern for engagements between different agencies and members of our community and I want people to be safe,” she said, adding that city leaders are “trying to de-escalate situations where we do not have a partner as focused on that same concern.”
She said she will meet with Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner, the independent Police Auditor Craig Renetzky, council leadership and executive city staff to discuss “additional steps” that the city can take to address federal agencies’ “reckless actions” in the community.
Knudson had been at the federal building Tuesday evening to attend a vigil for Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.
“Everyone has the right to peaceful protest and to due process, personal safety,” Knudson said Wednesday. “I just want you to know that your community is very aware of what has been happening. Your leaders are very aware, and we’re concerned for everyone’s safety.”
Meanwhile, about 30 protesters gathered early Wednesday afternoon at the federal building.
Sean Hayes was among the demonstrators both Tuesday and Wednesday.
“They are murdering people on the streets. They are acting lawlessly,” Hayes said, referring to federal agents in Minneapolis. “They’re shredding the Constitution. And they’re hurting people, and that’s unacceptable. That is completely unacceptable. And so that’s why I’m here today.”
He described the Tuesday confrontation with with federal officers in Eugene as “scary.”
Charles Areford, at the federal building Wednesday, said the previous day he was at the building as a protester but left before the “rowdiness.”
With some U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions taking place at the federal building, “I feel like this is the place to be to protest,” Areford said.
“As much as we can push back and as much as we can get ICE to use the resources to focus on us, it means there’s less of them to focus on other people,” Areford said.
Shoshanah Haber also returned Wednesday to protest at the federal building after being at the site the previous day. She spoke about feeling angry “towards the government, towards ICE, towards the excessive force being used on citizens.”
“Everybody’s really angry, and it’s hard to know what to do with that anger,” Haber said.
VA moves services
All mental health and social services at the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic at the downtown Eugene Federal Building have been moved to the larger VA facility in north Eugene, a spokesperson said Wednesday.
The move took effect Tuesday, Jan. 27, spokesperson Emma Spaulding said.
“Due to ongoing protest activity near the Eugene Federal Building, services have been relocated to the Eugene VA Health Care Center” on Chad Drive, Spaulding said in an email.
“This step was taken to ensure the safety of veterans, staff, and visitors while continuing to provide the right care, at the right time, in the right place — honoring Veterans’ preference for face-to-face appointments, as well as virtual care options,” Spaulding said.
The doors to the outpatient clinic at the downtown federal building were locked Wednesday afternoon.
Nikki Hansen, a spokesperson for the Roseburg VA Health Care System, said services will be provided at the Chad Drive facility until construction is complete on a new VA building. The project is expected to take 18 to 24 months, Hansen said.
Veterans with appointments have been notified of the change, Spaulding said.