Large Oregon gentrification protest stretches into 3rd day

A gentrification protest in Oregon's largest city that has blockaded several city blocks in Portland entered its third day Thursday as demonstrators dressed in black and wearing ski masks shored up their makeshift barriers aimed at keeping police out.

The fencing, lumber and other roadblocking material first went up on Tuesday after officers arrested about a dozen people in a clash over the eviction of a Black and Indigenous family from a house.

The street behind the blockade in the neighborhood of homes, coffee shops and restaurants was laced with booby traps aimed at keeping officers out — including homemade spike strips, piles of rocks and thick bands of plastic wrap stretched at neck-height across the roadway.

Protesters reinforce their barricades at an encampment outside a home in Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. Makeshift barricades erected by protesters are still up in Oregon's largest city a day after Portland police arrested about a dozen people in a clash over gentrification and the eviction of a family from a home. (AP PhotoGillian Flaccus)

It recalled more than four months of confrontations between police and protesters decrying racial injustice and police brutality that only abated weeks ago.

Mayor Ted Wheeler said the city would not tolerate an “autonomous zone,” a reference to a weeks-long protest in Seattle where protesters essentially took over a several-block area near downtown during racial injustice protests.

Supporters of the Kinney family, the Black and Indigenous family that faced foreclosure, have said the home was unjustly taken through predatory lending practices that target people of color.

Masked protesters by an occupied home speak with a neighborhood resident opposed to their encampment and demonstration in Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. Makeshift barricades erected by protesters are still up in Oregon's largest city a day after Portland police arrested about a dozen people in a clash over gentrification and the eviction of a family from a home. (AP PhotoGillian Flaccus)

The property sold at auction for $260,000 in 2018, the family said, while private land next door is valued at more than $10 million.

On Thursday, the family's supporters said in a statement that Wheeler's office had reached out to the Kinney family late Wednesday and promised to “keep it Kinney" in an initial conversation.

The statement implored the mayor to ”call off" the police and sheriff's deputies who secured the home and made arrests on Tuesday.

Signs and barricades remain outside a house on North Mississippi Ave. in Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. Makeshift barricades erected by protesters are still up in Oregon's largest city a day after Portland police arrested about a dozen people in a clash over gentrification and the eviction of a family from a home. (Beth NakamuraThe Oregonian via AP)

“We look forward to continuing that conversation as we move more towards our goal of securing the Red House for the Kinney family and their generations to come,” the family's statement said.

Wheeler's office said in a statement that the city was “actively working across bureaus and with partners” to resolve the standoff, but did not confirm having had contact with the family.

The house that the family was evicted from lies in a historically Black part of Portland that for decades was one of the few areas Black residents could own homes because of racist real estate and zoning laws.

And the 124-year-old home was one of the few remaining Black-owned residences in an area that has rapidly gentrified in the past 20 years.

A bank foreclosed on the property in 2018, but the Kinneys refused to leave. The developer who bought the house at auction filed a lawsuit and the Kinneys counter-sued, alleging they had been the victims of predatory loan practices.

They most recently requested an emergency court order to allow them to stay in the home, citing an eviction moratorium put in place in Oregon during the pandemic.

But the moratorium only applies to homeowners suffering pandemic-related financial woes and a judge rejected the request in September.

Protesters then started camping out on the property, but the occupation gained steam and national attention this week when officers responding to the new owner’s complaints conducted their dawn sweep and made about a dozen arrests, mostly on trespassing charges.

Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, there have been 81 calls to the property for fights, gunshots, burglary, vandalism and noise complaints, among other things, police have said.

Neighbors have complained that the sidewalks were blocked and they could not get to their homes, police said.

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Monday that leader Kim Jong Un observed test-flights of hypersonic missiles and underscored the need to bolster the country’s nuclear war deterrent, as the country dials up weapons displays ahead of its major political conference.

North Korea reported on the drill a day after its neighbors said they detected multiple ballistic missile launches and accused the North of carrying out provocations. The tests came just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday’s drill involving a hypersonic weapon system was meant to examine its readiness, enhance missile troops’ firepower operational skills and evaluate operational capabilities of the country’s war deterrent.

“Through today’s launching drill, we can confirm that a very important technology task for national defense has been carried out,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “We must continuously upgrade the military means, especially offensive weapon systems."

The possession of a functioning hypersonic weapon would give North Korea an ability to penetrate the U.S. and South Korea's missile defense shields. In past years, North Korea has performed a series of tests to acquire it, but many foreign experts question whether the tested missiles have achieved their desired speed and maneuverability during flights.

In recent weeks, North Korea test-fired what it called long-range strategic cruise missiles and new anti-air missiles and released photos showing apparent progress in the construction of its first nuclear-powered submarine.

Observers say North Korea aims to demonstrate or review its achievements on the weapons development sector ahead of the ruling Workers' Party congress, the first of its kind in five years. Keen attention is on whether Kim would use the congress to set a new approach on relations with the U.S. and resume long-dormant talks.

North Korea's nuclear program is expected to be discussed when Lee and Xi meet for a summit later Monday. Lee's office earlier said he would call for China, North Korea’s major ally and economic pipeline take “a constructive role” in efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The latest launches followed Saturday’s audacious U.S. military operation that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power and brought him to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. North Korea slammed the operation, saying it again shows “the rogue and brutal nature of the U.S."

Many experts say the U.S. operation likely leave Kim pushing to further expand his nuclear weapons capabilities that he thinks guarantees the survival of his government and state sovereignty in the face of U.S.-led hostilities.

During Sunday's launch drill, Kim defended his push for a stronger nuclear program. “Why it is necessary is exemplified by the recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events,” he said.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un, center, inspects test-flights of hypersonic missiles, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un walks on a road as he inspects test-flights of hypersonic missiles, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center left, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung arrive to depart for China at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, front right, visits a major munitions factory at an undisclosed place in North Korea Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)