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Protesters of the Portland police union contract, many of them affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement and demanding the resignation of Mayor Charlie Hales, briefly blocked Oregon Route 99E in Portland during the Friday afternoon commute.
Roughly 50 protesters blocked the highway in Eastmoreland for more than 4 minutes of rush hour this afternoon, chanting "Shut shit down" and "Film the police."
The group is expected to march to Hales' house in Eastmoreland.
The march is the latest high-profile move by protesters outraged by a new contract with the Portland Police Association. The target of activist ire is a draft policy that would allow police officers to view body-camera footage before writing incident reports.
Related: Here's why activists hate the new Portland police union contract.
That frustration ignited Wednesday when demonstrators were forcefully evicted from City Hall after a contract vote held with the public locked outside. Police arrested 10 people and deployed pepper spray.
Protesters have been galvanized by activist Gregory McKelvey, who on Thursday night issued an open letter to Hales, decrying the contract vote and a police crackdown on protesters.
Related: Police deploy pepper spray on Black Lives Matter protesters in melee on the MAX tracks.
McKelvey pledged Thursday night to attempt a recall of City Commissioner Amanda Fritz. But after The Oregonian pointed out procedural barriers to that campaign, McKelvey said Don't Shoot Portland would instead try to recall Commissioner Nick Fish.
UPDATE, 5:57 pm: Activists made it to Hales' house.
Several protesters set up tents in the parking strip in front of the mayor's house, with some pledging to stay for the weekend and others saying they might camp until Hales resigns.
When WW left for the evening, in a pouring rain, six tents had been erected on the mayor's parking strip, and another six across the street.
Willamette Week