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President Donald Trump called out Friday night’s unrest between protesters and officers at the Eugene Federal Building in a post Saturday, Jan. 31 on Truth Social. Here is what Trump said, followed by a fact check from Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
Trump’s Truth Social post
At 12:55 p.m. Pacific time Saturday, Trump published a 447-word Truth Social post about his administration’s approach to “Protests and/or Riots.”
In the beginning of the post, Trump said that he instructed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol to “be forceful” in protection of government property. He went on to write that local governments have an “obligation to also protect” federal property.
In the middle of the post, he wrote, “Last night in Eugene, Oregon, these criminals broke into a Federal Building, and did great damage, also scaring and harassing the hardworking employees. Local Police did nothing in order to stop it.”
The post continued, with Trump referencing the anti-ICE Los Angeles protests in June last year, referring to them as riots. He ended the post warning people to “BEWARE” of ICE.
Fact check
Trump made claims about the unrest in downtown Eugene that do not match the full picture of what happened. Here’s a breakdown.
“Great Damage“
Friday evening’s unrest followed a day of peaceful demonstrations tied to the Jan. 30 “National Shutdown.” The situation shifted around 6 p.m., when about 300 people gathered downtown. Protesters interviewed by Lookout Eugene-Springfield said a window was broken around that time. Federal officers then intermittently deployed tear gas until about 10 p.m.
Lookout Eugene-Springfield surveyed and photographed the damage in daylight Saturday. Five glass panels were damaged. In the plaza facing Pearl Street near a rotating-door entrance, one panel was shattered and three others were cracked. Near the rotating-door entrance facing High Street, another panel was cracked.
By Saturday morning, workers were cutting large sheets of plywood to cover the windows. The plywood boarded up intact glass and patched shattered panels at the building’s entrances on Pearl and High streets.
“Local Police did nothing in order to stop it.”
Shortly after the first window was broken, the Eugene Police Department (EPD) responded to the federal building.
Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said Friday night that Eugene police intervened because only a few federal officers were on duty and property damage was occurring at the downtown building.
In response, about 15 EPD officers stood between the entrance of the building in the plaza and protesters.
Several EPD-marked vehicles lined Pearl Street, one in which police officers made the following announcement dozens of times: “This is the Eugene Police Department. You are engaged in an active riot. You are ordered to disperse the area immediately.”
The announcement went on to say tear gas might be deployed and arrests could be made if people didn’t leave.
Eugene police left shortly after 7 p.m. when federal reinforcements arrived from Portland. Federal officers then emerged from the building and deployed chemical agents to disperse the crowd.
The chemicals aloft were so heavy and strong that people immediately cleared the plaza, some running into the street and narrowly missing traffic.
Complaints were formally filed with Eugene’s Independent Police Auditor, prompting the office to announce Saturday that it had opened a preliminary investigation.
While the auditor’s office does not have the authority to review the conduct of federal officers, it will examine whether Eugene police violated any policies, procedures or relevant statutes, resolutions or laws, according to a press release sent to the media Saturday.
The press release did not specify the complaints.
“Riots“
In Eugene, weekly protests at the federal building have become more frequent — nearly daily demonstrations condemning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The federal building houses an ICE office along with other federal government agencies.
In the days before Friday, demonstrators gathered at Seventh Avenue and Pearl Street to mourn and honor Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who was shot and killed Jan. 24 by federal agents in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement operation. Pretti’s death has sparked widespread protests across the United States and locally in Eugene.
On Tuesday, a scheduled demonstration that included singers turned tense when federal officers unexpectedly emerged from the building and approached the crowd in what witnesses described as a show of force. That confrontation led to clashes between federal agents and a separate group of protesters, and at least seven activists were temporarily detained.
Small groups convened peacefully at the building on Wednesday and Thursday.
By Friday, events tied to the nationwide “National Shutdown” included a peaceful protest in Springfield and a caravan to the Lane Events Center with a rally there. In the evening, a protest at the Eugene Federal Building intensified, with flashbang stun grenades and tear gas deployed as police declared a riot and ordered the crowd to disperse.
In a video interview recorded by his department, Police Chief Skinner said his department labeled Friday’s event a riot, in part because of property damage. He also said his department had received reports that protesters tried to enter the building, but officers were not able to confirm that.
Several protesters Lookout Eugene-Springfield spoke with said they did not observe people trying to enter the building.
Skinner also said civilian staff were in the building who were “afraid” of the protest activity. He did not specify their roles or how many were present Friday night.
Eugene police did not make any arrests.