Three Arrested as Protests Snarl Downtown Traffic

Three people were arrested Friday evening as hundreds of protesters upset with a variety of topics but mostly prison conditions.

It started at 2:00 Friday afternoon as a protest against "prison slavery and white supremacy." By 5:30 it had turned into a massive omnibus protest on numerous topics that was snarling downtown traffic and interrupting MAX service.

It was Friday afternoon in Portland.

The protest was originally organized by Portland's chapter of Black Lives Matter but grew to involve nearly two dozen different groups.

Some of the groups are upset with what they call "prison profiteering" - prisons using inmate labor.

One stop was at the AT&T Store downtown where protesters handed out fliers saying the company used inmates in call centers, paying them $2 per hour.

At times the crowd swelled to several hundred people.

TriMet said that all lines were bypassing stops on 5th and 6th avenues.

Portland Police say that during the protests, people threw things at officers, one police car damaged as was a person's car.

Of the three arrests only one person was booked into jail.

Twenty-seven-year-old James Matthew Mattox faces charges of criminal mischief, harassment, and interfering with a police officer.