Following multiple arrests, Seattle Police department declares Capitol Hill protest a 'riot'

The Seattle Police Department declared a riot on Saturday and said that protesters threw rocks at officers and caused multiple fires and damage to businesses.

The department took to Twitter to declare it a riot. It said: "Due to the ongoing damage and public safety risks associated with this incident, SPD is declaring it a riot."

Protesters gathered in huge numbers near downtown Seattle to begin a rally and a peaceful march against racial injustices. The purpose of the gathering was also to show solidarity to demonstrators in Portland.

There were no signs of law enforcements near the Seattle march, in the beginning, however, the police department tweeted that a dozen people breached the construction site for the King County youth detention facility. The Seattle Police Department also said that protesters broke out windows at a King County court facility.

The Department of Homeland Security has dispatched a team of officers as a precautionary measure to contain protests during the weekend.

The clashes in Portland have further inflamed the nation's political tensions and triggered a crisis over the limits of federal power.

Thousands of people gathered in Portland streets hours after a judge denied Oregon's request to restrict federal agents' actions when they arrest people during protests that have roiled the city.

Among various organised groups, including Healthcare Workers Protest, Teachers against Tyrants, Lawyers for Black Lives and the "Wall of Moms," was Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who spoke to protesters outside the Justice Center.

The flow of tear gas caused protesters to disperse, some becoming sick as others remained towards the front of the courthouse with leaf blowers directing the gas back to the courthouse. Federal agents had leaf blowers of their own to counteract.

Portland has been rocked by nearly two months of demonstrations for racial equality and against police brutality, part of a movement that has swept the United States since the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African American, in the custody of Minneapolis police.