Portland protests smaller, calmer, free of tear gas after federal withdrawal

PORTLAND, Ore. — Through most of July, Black Lives Matter speakers would take to the steps of the Multnomah County Justice Center and talk about their movement to people — sometimes numbering in the thousands — who gathered in a nearby street and park.They often appeared to be second to the main act that would unfold later in the evening in the next block north by the federal courthouse. There, cadres of protesters would shoot off fireworks, shine lasers, throw water bottles or — on occasion — pull down sections of fence and set fires. Sooner or later, federal law enforcement agents would emer...

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