Portland’s ongoing protests for a ceasefire in Gaza began one week ago as the movement began to spread to university campuses around the U.S.

Portland, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland’s ongoing protests for a ceasefire in Gaza began nearly one week ago as the movement began to spread to university campuses around the U.S.

The rallies started with a few dozen people gathering in the South Park Blocks on the Portland State University campus. The movement grew by hundreds in the following days and eventually led to the occupation of PSU’s Millar Library, which the Portland Police Bureau raided Thursday morning, resulting in at least 22 arrests so far.

Although the library was cleared, protests have continued around Portland. KOIN 6 News has outlined a summary of the past week of protests and will continue to cover the latest developments.

April 25

The nationwide movement reached Portland State University as demonstrators gathered at the South Park Blocks to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. As many as 35 people were reported to have been in the park until 1 a.m.

PSU President Ann Cudd issued a statement as protesters and university students called for PSU to stop accepting donations from Boeing due to the company's financial backing of the Israeli government.

“The passion with which these demands are being repeatedly expressed by some in our community motivates me, as a scholar of academic ethics and a university leader responsible for the wellbeing of our campus constituents, to listen and ask additional questions,” Cudd said.

April 29

Roughly 200 protesters marched along the Parks Blocks Monday and issued a list of demands to the university. Most of the protesters left the campus by 7 p.m. However, 50 to 75 people began to occupy the school in a makeshift camp near the library’s front entrance, despite the university’s request for them to leave. The lingering crowd defaced buildings with graffiti and ultimately broke into the PSU library.

At 11 p.m., Mayor Ted Wheeler, PPB Chief Bob Day, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and PSU President Ann Cudd held a joint press conference at 11 p.m., stating that the once peaceful protest has transitioned to acts of crime. During the conference, District Attorney Mike Schmidt pledged to prosecute those arrested in connection to the illegal occupation of the library.

April 30

PSU canceled classes as the occupation of the Millar Library continued. A group of students and non-student protesters were seen fortifying the library encampment with wooden pallets and crates delivered by the truckload. Cudd officially asked police to remove the protesters from the building. PPB remained publicly silent about its plans to evict the protesters from the library.

A report by KOIN 6 News' Elise Haas later that evening showed the extensive damage protesters caused to the inside of the library. The visible vandalism included graffiti, broken glass, smashed computers and library tables and haphazardly piled into makeshift blockades.

May 1

The PSU campus remained closed. Cudd announced that roughly 50 protesters agreed to leave the library peacefully by 1:30 a.m. that morning. PSU administration announced that the campus would reopen Thursday as Portland Police prepared to clear the library Thursday morning.

Rioters dressed in all black tore through Downtown Wednesday night, smashing the windows of businesses and university buildings. KOIN 6 witnessed multiple physical and verbal fights as rioters caused havoc around the city.

May 2

The morning began with news that 15 PPB training vehicles were torched shortly before 2 a.m. The fire is being investigated as arson, though it remains unclear if the fire was related to the ongoing protests.

PPB officers dressed in riot gear arrived at the library at 6 a.m. and began clearing occupiers from the building at 9 a.m. However, they ran into trouble when officers encountered a "slick substance" on the floor, which police said they suspected was put there intentionally to make them slip. It also took a couple of hours to take down barricades and other obstacles placed in the library to slow officers down, police said. At least 12 protesters were arrested during the raid, including four PSU students.

PPB previously said it did not plan to use tear gas on the protesters inside the building. However, chemical munitions were used by officers outside that library at approximately 10 a.m. Protesters were seen fleeing the building — including some equipped with makeshift shields cut from trash cans — as police charged forward. At one point, around 10 protesters were chasing a van holding arrested protesters in it.

PPB announced that the library was cleared by 10:30 a.m. Inside the building, officers said they found “caches of tools, what appears to be improvised weapons, ball bearings, paint balloons, spray bottles of ink and DIY armor.”

The remaining protesters have gathered around the South Park Blocks where officers have sectioned off the campus with police tape. KOIN 6 News also saw some protesters on the street fighting among themselves.

KOIN 6 News will continue to follow the story as it develops.