Police, anti-austerity protesters clash in Portland

The police have clashed with hundreds of anti-austerity protesters in Portland, Oregon, arresting at least one protester.

Several hundred demonstrators marched in the Lloyd District of the city on Saturday to voice their anger at the government’s cutting healthcare and public education budget, UPI reported on Sunday.

“Austerity basically means budget cuts…no consideration of raising taxes on the wealthy…basically cutting entitlement for people,” said Nicholas Caleb, a protester with Portland Action Lab (PAL), which organized the event. The PAL describes itself as an offshoot of an Occupy movement.

The police used pepper spray to disperse the protesters, claiming they did not have a permit for the rally. Witnesses said about 12 to 18 demonstrators were pepper sprayed in the face halfway through the march.

“We tried to go in one direction and they tried to block us and as soon as they saw that we weren’t going to stop moving that direction, they just instantly started spraying us,” said one protester.