Unrelated Group To A Massive Protest Marches Through Downtown Eugene

Hundreds of protesters marched around downtown Eugene, continuing another day of protests in the city.

The protest that slowed traffic in the downtown area was not affiliated with the thousands of people who gathered in the afternoon for “March for Black Lives.” The new protests went down to W. 7th Avenue and Washington Street from Alton Baker Park. They then went up to W. 5th Avenue where the groups of people began to make their way east towards the federal courthouse.

EPD sent out a traffic advisory at 4:30 p.m. as a large crowd from the event began walking in the streets of downtown Eugene and then swelled to more than 1,000 protesters.

There was a gunshot fired from a vehicle in the area of W. 11th and Olive Street around 5 p.m. They had been at the tail end of the protesters and some of them began tapping on the vehicle’s trunk.

One of the men in the vehicle sprayed a substance at the people around them. The other man in the car, Nathan Allen Huddleston, fired a round from his handgun into the ground to disperse the crowd.

Police arrested Huddleston on charges of Unlawful Use Weapon, Disorderly Conduct and Reckless Endangering.

In another incident, around 5:30 p.m., a Jeep was in the roadway where protesters were walking, and a man got out of it displaying a semi-automatic rifle. This immediately incited nearby protesters, who started to group around the man.

One of the protest participants quickly and effectively intervened along with a few others to keep the crowd back from the man. The man left in the Jeep. This incident is under investigation.

Eugene police say the crowd dispersed and headed to the courthouse.

Outside of the federal courthouse, hundreds gathered for hours, listening to more speeches. Protests remained peaceful with Eugene Police watching across the street.