Portland Anti-Trump Protests Cost Nearly $600K in Overtime for Police

ashley.rae | December 1, 2016
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(Image source: Twitter)

The anti-Donald Trump protests in Portland, Ore. have cost the city nearly $600,000 in overtime pay for police officers.

According to OregonLive, the police officers protecting the city from burning property, smashed windows, and blocked highways racked up $563,139 in overtime pay in the week following the election. The pay will come out of the city’s $9.1 million overtime budget.

The Portland police tried to keep the peace while still allowing people to voice their outrage, even after the protests became riots. In one tweet, the police encouraged peaceful protesters to separate from the rioters, saying, “Those not wanting to be associated w/anarchists should leave the area immediately. Peaceful protests encouraged to go to Pioneer Square.”

Another video shows the police saying they want to protect the protesters' First Amendment rights:

Approximately 120 people were arrested during the Portland protests. OregonLive’s survey of the arrested protesters found the vast majority of the protesters are Democrats, and that the average age of the protester was 26.

Although the violent and damaging protests against Trump occurred in Portland, the greater Portland area voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton. Multnomah County, where Portland is located, voted 73.9 percent for Clinton compared to 17.1 percent for Trump. In fact, Oregon as a whole is also strongly Democratic. Clinton won 50 percent of the vote in Oregon compared to just 39.3 percent for Trump.

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