A speaker addresses a protest at Springfield City Hall on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.
Nathan Wilk/KLCC
An afternoon of protests at the federal office building in downtown Eugene on Friday ended with police in riot gear and tear gas flooding the area.
Protesters lined the streets around the building throughout the day, holding signs and chanting in opposition to federal immigration enforcement. The demonstrations came as part of a nationwide “general strike” called by people critical of federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Among the participants in the first hour of the events was Vivian Kelly, a disabled nurse who was doing beadwork while protesting.
“This is not a protest against Democrats or Republicans,” Kelly said. “This is a protest against right and wrong.”
By late afternoon Friday, some protesters had pushed up against the building, banging on doors and windows and spraying graffiti on the walls. According to the Daily Emerald, at least one window had been damaged.
Eugene Police declared a riot around 6 p.m. EPD parked multiple vehicles in the street, and broadcast repeated warnings to protesters gathered in the courtyard to leave using a speaker.
“This is the Eugene Police Department. You are engaged in an active riot,” said an EPD officer. “You are ordered to disperse the area immediately. Failure to disperse will result in the use of tear gas and/or impact munitions. You may be subject to arrest.”
Drummers play in front of the Lane County Public Services Building, diagonally across the street from the federal building where most of the protestors gathered on Jan. 30.
Zac Ziegler/KLCC
Eugene police officials said they were trying to de-escalate the situation. A release from the department said “some protesters breached the building and went inside.” KLCC couldn’t immediately confirm that claim.
“The last thing we need is deadly confrontation between protesters inside a federal building and our federal agents who are using a level of force that they feel like is necessary to protect the people inside of the building,” said EPD Chief Chris Skinner in a Jan. 30 video.
A group of dark-colored vehicles entered the underground parking area beneath the building after 7 p.m.. Then, just before 7:30 p.m., law enforcement tear-gassed protesters.
According to Skinner, the federal government called in additional resources from Portland on Friday to help protect the building. Federal agents used chemical munitions to push protesters back as they took over the scene and created a barrier between protesters and the building, Skinner said. Eugene police did not use any munitions, he said.
KLCC wasn’t immediately aware of any arrests at the building during the event as of early Saturday morning.
Oregon Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, whose district includes Eugene, posted on X Saturday praising Eugene police’s attempt to de-escalate tensions.
Hoyle also took to social media to encourage people to protest peacefully.
“Breaking into the federal building isn’t peaceful protesting and makes the action of protesting one we will need to keep engaged in for the long term, more dangerous for everyone,” Hoyle said.
Springfield
Meanwhile, a protest at Springfield’s City Hall earlier in the afternoon drew hundreds of people. Speakers shared their personal stories, called for the audience to shop locally, and criticized the city governments of Eugene and Springfield for not directly participating in the strike.
Rob Fisette with the Party for Socialism and Liberation said organizers knew of more than 60 local businesses that had closed on Friday in solidarity.
Some of those gathered at the rally said they took time off work or skipped class to join in.
“We’re sending a message to the Trump administration that we are done with our neighbors being brutalized,” said PSL organizer Chris Case. “And we are taking, as workers, one of the only kind of levers of power that we have, which is to withhold our labor and actually make it hurt the pocketbook of the folks that bankroll all of this.”
However, there was also tension during Friday’s event, as several armed counter-protesters showed up with an “I <3 ICE” sign, prompting jeers and shouting matches with attendees.
By mid-afternoon on Friday, Jan. 30, hundreds of people lined the streets in front of the federal building in downtown Eugene.
Zac Ziegler/KLCC
One of those counter-protesters, Springfield resident Tyler Alford, shouted that “civil war” was coming. He told KLCC he brought his gun to protect himself from getting beaten up by protesters.
“We came out here to show our Second Amendment right, First Amendment right as well, and have some conversations with some people,” said Alford.
Anti-ICE protester Dharmika Henshel appeared to help diffuse the situation when she calmly engaged with Alford, discussing his views. She said she fears constitutional rights in the U.S. are being eroded.
“I never thought I’d see our country like this, and it’s scary, and we don’t really know what to do. We don’t really know how to fix it,” said Henshel. “That’s scarier than talking to a guy on the street.”
After the rally in Springfield, some of the anti-ICE participants left on a “car caravan” around the local area, ending at the Lane Events Center in Eugene.
Nathan Wilk and Zac Ziegler are reporters with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
OPB’s Amanda Linares contributed to this story.
