US federal agents use tear gas to try to disperse Portland protests

A crowd of protesters remained outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, into the early hours of Saturday even US agents used plumes of tear gas to disperse them.

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.

The federal agents, deployed by President Donald Trump to tamp down the unrest, have arrested dozens during nightly demonstrations against racial injustice that often turn violent.

Democratic leaders in Oregon say federal intervention has worsened the two-month crisis, and the state attorney general sued to allege that some people had been whisked off the streets in unmarked vehicles.

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

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.