Portland mayor says residents angry about unrest during protests under 'guise of some noble cause'

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Monday said residents are "sick and tired" of people engaging in destructive behavior and violence following months of unrest fueled by nightly protests that have often devolved into violence and vandalism. 

"The community is sick and tired of people engaging in criminal destruction and violence and doing it under the guise of some noble cause," Wheeler, a Democrat, said during a Monday night news briefing with local leaders.  Demonstrators engaged in vandalism Friday when they gathered near the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, which had been targeted for vandalism in multiple protests last year. Fencing around the building was reinstalled Sunday shortly after being removed last week.  "The people who work here support the voices of racial and social justice and will not be intimidated from doing our jobs by the ugly graffiti or broken windows," said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon. "We do not confuse the voices of the many with the shouts of the few who hope to hold our city hostage by petty crime and violence."