Portland mayor says he is moving after rioters target his home

Portland, Ore., Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) said he is looking to move from his condo in the Pearl District after it has been a site for repeated demonstrations and recent damages by rioters.

Over 200 people on Monday marched to the mayor’s condominium tower — which houses 114 residents — demanding his resignation and causing damages and vandalism inside and around the complex, The Oregonian reported.

In an email sent to neighbors on Tuesday, Wheeler apologized for the unrest and said it would be “best for me and for everyone else’s safety and peace” that he finds a new home.

“I want to express my sincere apologies for the damage to our home and the fear that you are experiencing due to my position,” according to a screenshot of the email sent to The Oregonian. “It’s unfair to all of you who have no role in politics or in my administration.”

Police on Monday arrested nearly 20 people associated with the crowd that broke windows and stirred tensions beneath the 16-story building where the mayor resides.

Fires were lit in the streets near the condo building, and at one point, a bundle of newspapers was set ablaze and thrown into a ground-floor storefront inside the residential building.

Protests and demonstrations have been ongoing in Portland since the May death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

The events outside Wheeler’s residence also happened just days after a man associated with a conservative group was shot and killed in a caravan of President Trump supporters.

The president and Wheeler have engaged in a back-and-forth banter over unrest in Portland, as Trump says he can send federal law enforcement to the city and return peace to the town.

“Yet again, you said you offered to aid Portland by sending in federal law enforcement to our city. On behalf of the City of Portland: No thanks,” Wheeler wrote in a letter to Trump Friday.