UPDATE (6 p.m. PST) Portland police have charged a man with arson after he allegedly threw a road flare into a downtown Target store and police car during a May Day protest.
Police said Damion Zachary Feller, 22, was arrested Wednesday and booked into Multnomah County Jail. He's charged with first and second degree arson, as well as a riot charge.
Investigators say they reviewed video of the incident and used community tips to identify Feller.
He'll be arraigned in court Thursday.
ORIGINAL STORY
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has called for strict charges against some people who committed vandalism earlier this week during Portland's May Day protest — and county prosecutors may deliver.
According to a KATU report, Wheeler asked the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office to "pursue harsher charges and penalties for repeat offenders arrested at protests and riots."
Twenty-five people were arrested at Monday's demonstration after a small group of people in the largely peaceful protest began damaging property downtown.
Shortly after the protest began, people threw Pepsi cans and other projectiles at police officers. The situation quickly escalated, and police canceled the march's permit shortly before calling it a "riot."
Some protesters burned newspaper boxes, broke store windows, damaged a police vehicle and sprayed graffiti across the downtown area before the event came to an end hours later.
Multnomah County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kirsten Snowden told OPB on Wednesday that prosecutors are pursuing all relevant charges in the case.
At past protests that have resulted in property damage, some vandals have been charged with misdemeanors that carry penalties such as probation or fines.
"The reality is that for most misdemeanors, including criminal mischief, the penalties do not tend to be that severe," Snowden said.
But, she added, if police are able to present evidence that shows a person caused more than $1,000 in damage at the May Day protest, felony criminal mischief or arson are possible charges.
A felony criminal mischief charge typically carries a sentence that includes jail time and possibly prison. Sentencing would be influenced by the extent of a person's crimes and their criminal history.
Still, Snowden said, the full extent of prosecution related to the protest won't be known for some time.
"We’re not in a position right now to make any further charges in connection with those acts until the police complete their investigation," she said.
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