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Published 10:57 IST, August 22nd 2020

2 US buildings closed in Portland after threat received

 At least two federal buildings in Portland have been closed and the FBI is investigating after a threat of violence was reported, the officials said Friday.

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 At least two federal buildings in Portland have been closed and the FBI is investigating after a threat of violence was reported, the officials said Friday.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the threat is credible, the FBI said in a statement.

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The Portland office of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court was closed due to a threat of violence in the area, according to the court’s website.

Also closed was the Mark O. Hatfield Federal courthouse, which was the site of weeks of violent protests last month.

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Demonstrators have taken to the streets or Oregon's largest city nightly since the May police killing of George Floyd and clashed repeatedly with federal agents dispatched to protect the courthouse. A statement on the courthouse website did not say why the building had closed.

The FBI's statement said: “If we develop information indicating a credible threat, we will notify the public.”

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Protesters this week have focused their ire on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland.

People in a group of about 100 late Thursday and before dawn Friday sprayed the building with graffiti, hurled rocks and bottles at agents and shined laser lights at them, Portland police said in a statement.

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Agents set off smoke or tear gas and used crowd control munitions to try to disperse the crowd, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Three people were arrested, police said in their statement.

It wasn't clear if that building was included in the alleged threat or if the threat was connected in any way to those protests.

10:57 IST, August 22nd 2020