Suspicious Package Leads to Second Evacuation of Portland City Hall This Month

Portland city government has been inundated with complaints, threats and trolling messages after violence at a June 29 protest made national headlines.

Portland City Council in session on January 16, 2013. (Mike Grippi)

A suspicious package discovered at City Hall this morning shut the building down for the second time in July.

Portland police also closed Terry Schrunk Plaza today while the Explosive Disposal Unit investigated the package to determine if it contained a dangerous device. Portland police cleared the package after the Explosive Disposal Unit determined it posed no threat to the public and did not contain an explosive. City Hall will re-open when police clear the scene.

On July 2, a bomb threat phoned in to the City Attorney's Office led police to evacuate the building.

Police did not say whether today's suspicious package may be connected to recent threats against Portland officials.

Portland city government has been inundated with complaints, threats and trolling messages after violence at a June 29 protest made national headlines.

Mayor Ted Wheeler's inbox received so many messages in the days following the protest, the city's Bureau of Technology Services had to block his account from receiving new emails. About 100 people called the non-emergency police line, tying up dispatchers who work for the Bureau of Emergency Communications who would otherwise be taking calls from Portlanders reporting crimes.

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