Five Arrests Following May 25 Protest turned Riot in Downtown Portland

A peaceful protest and march ended as a destructive event.

Broken windows at a downtown Starbucks store. Photo: Multnomah County DA

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt filed charges against Jarrid Huber, Elizabeth Hall, Emery Hall and Jacob Myers.

These are four of the five individuals arrested by the Portland Police Bureau on May 25, 2021 downtown during an unlawful assembly and riot.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office expects to receive police reports on the fifth case and will conduct a prosecutorial review once all police reports are finalized and submitted.

On May 25, 2021 at around 5:30 p.m., about one hundred people gathered at Revolution Hall in southeast Portland and walked in the street to the Burnside Bridge and back, over the course of about 90 minutes.

The group had signs and drums and sang and chanted as they walked peacefully.

A little before 8:00 p.m., a different gathering started in the area of Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Main Street.

At about 8:45 p.m., they began blocking the intersection. Some people were wearing helmets and carrying gas masks, backpacks and tote bags.

At about 9:13 p.m., people pushed a dumpster against the Justice Center near Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Main Street. People tried to get a fire started in the dumpster.

Many people approached the Justice Center holding umbrellas to obscure their actions and movements. At least two people pried at doors on the north side of the building.

Several people used umbrellas to conceal their actions and lit a fire in the dumpster at about 9:21 p.m. while people chanted to burn the building down.

Based on the criminal activity of people in the crowd, officers gave public address announcements that the assembly was unlawful.

Officers moved toward the crowd to create space for Portland Fire and Rescue to safely enter the block to put out the dumpster fire against the building.

People threw frozen water bottles, glass bottles, eggs and metal spikes at officers and fired mortar-style fireworks at officers.

People tore down fencing around Chapman Square Park and used fence segments to block Southwest 4th Avenue near Southwest Main Street.

Police cleared metal spikes from the street so firefighters could get close enough to extinguish the fire. People in the crowd formed rows while those closer to the front of the crowd held umbrellas to obscure the view behind them.

People from further back threw objects at officers including frozen water bottles, eggs and metal spikes. When the fire was out and firefighters got safely away, officers deployed smoke then left the area.

While the crowd blocked the intersection of Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Main Street, some people incited others to move through the city to destroy property.

At about 9:51 p.m. the crowd of over 200 moved west toward City Hall where people broke out windows.

They walked north along Southwest 5th Avenue breaking windows and damaging property. Police gave public address announcements declaring the violent and tumultuous conduct of the crowd a riot and gave directions to disperse.

As the crowd walked through downtown, some people broke windows and damaged property at businesses. Slowly, as the number of people in the crowd became smaller and smaller, they began to spread out, fight among themselves and light occasional trash can fires.

People within the crowd were overheard saying the night was a success. Officers made targeted arrests.

By midnight, the crowd was down to about a few dozen people milling around.

The following people were arrested and booked into jail:

State v. Jarrid Huber (C#21CR25254)

Huber is charged with one count of Arson in the First Degree, three counts of Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, one count of Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree and one count of Attempted Criminal Mischief in the First Degree.

Huber, acting in concert with others, is accused of pushing a dumpster up against the Multnomah County Justice Center and then setting the dumpster’s content on fire. The fire burned intensely and threatened significant damage to the Multnomah County Justice Center, according to court documents.

Huber is also accused of spray-painting anarchist symbols on buildings and destroying multiple large windows at a coffee shop, a jewelry store, a luxury department store, and Portland City Hall.

State v. Emery Hall (C#21CR25249) and State v. Elizabeth Hall (C#21CR25250)

Emery Hall and Elizabeth Hall are both charged with one count of Riot and one count of Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree.

Both are accused of destroying multiple windows at Portland City Hall, attempting to destroy additional windows at that location and then spray-painting graffiti onto nearby buildings as they left the area.

State v. Jacob Meyers (AKA: Jacob Buhl) (C#21CR25253)

Meyers is charged with one count of Criminal Mischief in the First Degree and one count of Riot.

Meyers, acting in concert with others, is accused of destroying multiple windows in downtown Portland.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office continues to work with and assist the Portland Police Bureau to ensure all investigative leads are exhausted on these cases to ensure the police reports submitted to our office are complete for prosecutorial screening.

A charging document is only an accusation of a crime. Huber, Emery Hall, Elizabeth Hall and Meyers are innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: Multnomah County District Attorney