On Jan. 30, a “ICE Out” protest at the downtown Eugene Federal Building turned chaotic for the second time this week with federal agents launching pepper balls and large amounts of tear gas at protesters.

Many of the more than 200 people present, starting at about noon, peacefully held signs along the corner of 7th Avenue and Pearl Street and chanted slogans like, “There is only one solution, revolution revolution!” Other protesters gathered at the front entrance of the Federal Building and later began banging on the windows, several of which eventually broke in multiple places. 

Around 5:40 pm, an entire window from the front was shattered, and federal agents inside open fire with pepper balls, tear gas and flash bangs. 

The protest was declared a riot around 6 pm by the Eugene Police Department. In response to protesters breaking windows, more than 15 police officers rushed to the scene and created a barrier between the protesters and the federal agents inside the building. 

“It’s not just about the federal agents, there’s civilian staff [inside] too,” Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said in a press conference after the protest was called a “riot.” 

“When crime starts to be committed, it starts to dip into that area of becoming a riot.” Skinner said that when protesters began to damage the building, it appeared to EPD that protesters wanted to unlawfully “breach that facility and go in.”

After federal reinforcements arrived inside around 6:30 pm, federal agents emerged and replaced the Eugene Police Department, deploying flash bangs, tear gas, pepper spray and pepper balls. Several standoffs ensued throughout the night as federal agents would push protesters back, retreat, then push protesters back again. Multiple arrests were made.

On Jan. 31, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social media to weigh in on the events with his usual rhetoric and lack of clear factual basis: “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,” he writes. Trump adds that he instructed federal agents to be “very forceful” in their protection of federal property. 

At one point federal officers launched tear gas and pepper balls into a parking lot across the street from the Federal Building, targeting protesters, observers and people seeking treatment from the chemicals. 

“After everything that’s going on I felt like I finally needed to put my body out here,” protester Hunter Stephens told Eugene Weekly. “I’m gonna do my best not to get hurt but I’m also gonna do my best to stand with these people in my community as they try to find accountability and raise awareness.” 

Stephens said he felt hope when he saw the federal agents standing in a cloud of their own tear gas as people drove by on West 7th Avenue, honking their horns in support of protesters. 

During one of the push backs by federal agents, protester William Thaxton was arrested. “I put my arms out and up absolutely not resisting and they very aggressively grabbed my arms and pulled them behind my back,” he said. “They were purposefully being over aggressive. Thaxton said agents took him inside and forced him to stand until one agent provided him with a chair. 

After some time, Thaxton was told to stand again. Then, what Thaxton assumed to be a commanding officer walked by and became upset that Thaxton was standing. The officer asked Thaxton, “What are you doing, why are you standing?” Thaxton said,“I was told to stand up.” He said the office then said, “No, you need to be on your knees.” 

Thaxton said he and the other three arrested protesters were held in a cell that had poor ventilation and each time federal agents gassed the crowd, they felt the effects of the irritants severely. “We were all just sitting there coughing,” he said. “It was so bad that we were coughing up shit and spitting on the floor because we couldn’t breathe.” Thaxton was released at 11 pm with citations for trespassing and failure to comply with law enforcement.

This story has been updated to reflect that new video calls into question the sequence of events involving the broken window at the Federal Building. It appears to show a DHS agent breaking a large window before tear gas and flash bangs are used against protesters. It is unclear if the window was broken or damaged before the federal agents broke it out.