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\"I want to thank the thousands of you who have come out to oppose the Trump administration's occupation of this city,\" Wheeler told people gathered downtown near the federal courthouse, according to the Associated Press. \"The reason this is important is it is not just happening in Portland ... we're on the front line here in Portland.\"

At around 12:30 a.m. local time, the Portland Police Department declared the protest a riot and asked people to leave.

\"A riot has been declared outside the Justice Center. Disperse to the north and/or west. Disperse immediately,\" the department tweeted. \"Failure to adhere to this order may subject you to arrest or citation, or riot control agents, including, but not limited to, tear gas and/or impact weapons.\"

\"PHOTO:
Caitlin Ochs/Reuters
PHOTO: Mothers protest against racial inequality and police violence in Portland, Oregon, U.S., July 22, 2020.
>

Some of the federal agents in Portland are part of a Department of Homeland Security task force established to respond to the growing protests across the country. The DHS said these forces were there to protect the federal properties from \"criminal acts of violence and vandalism.\"

Thousands are still in the area after the riot was declared and ABC News heard at least seven use-of-force warnings.

Before the riot was declared, Portland police said \"multiple flares and other incendiaries\" were thrown over the fence surrounding the courthouse, which resulted in fires.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf defended federal agents' presence in Portland earlier this week, saying they are highly trained and are being deployed with proper oversight.

\"These officers are not stormtroopers,\" Wolf said. \"They're not the Gestapo, as some have described them. That description is offensive and hyperbolic, and it's dishonest.

\"PHOTO:
Gillian Flaccus/AP
PHOTO: Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks to people gathered in downtown Portland, Ore., Wednesday, July 22, 2020.
>

ABC News' Kayna Whitworth, Kristofer Rios and Marjorie McAfee contributed to this report.

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