PORTLAND, Ore. — Police in Seattle and Portland, Oregon arrested more than a dozen people as hundreds took to the streets to demand a full count of all presidential election votes and a halt to President Donald Trump's court challenges to stop counts in some key battleground states, officials said.
Seven people were arrested on Capitol Hill in Seattle and one person who was being arrested for allegedly damaging property was taken to a hospital after "experiencing a medical episode," police said in a statement early Thursday. Others were arrested on suspicion of obstruction, pedestrian interference, property damage, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.
Police said it was unclear whether the person's medical issue was related to the arrest. The person was initially hospitalized in critical condition but later upgraded to seirous condition, Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg said Thursday morning.
In Portland, protesters smashed windows at businesses, hurled objects including fireworks at officers and police made at least 10 arrests, according to a statement from the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
Officers seized multiple firearms, ammunition, a knife, fireworks, body armor and gas masks from people who were arrested, a sheriff's office statement said.
One of the people who was arrested had a rifle with a magazine of ammunition, fireworks, a knife and was wearing a ballistics vest, the sheriff's office said.
Gov. Kate Brown had activated the use of the state National Guard to help local law enforcement manage unrest related to the election, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said.
Brown said previously she would keep state troopers, sheriff's deputies and police officers under a unified command into Friday in Portland to handle protests amid uncertainty over the the U.S. presidential election outcome.