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Trump: ‘Great damage’ done in Eugene during protest
by Ashli BlowJanuary 31, 2026
President Donald Trump called out Friday night’s unrest between protesters and officers at the Eugene Federal Building in a post Saturday, Jan. 31 on Truth Social. Here is what Trump said, followed by a fact check from Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
Trump’s Truth Social post
At 12:55 p.m. Pacific time Saturday, Trump published a 447-word Truth Social post about his administration’s approach to “Protests and/or Riots.”
In the beginning of the post, Trump said that he instructed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol to “be forceful” in protection of government property. He went on to write that local governments have an “obligation to also protect” federal property.
In the middle of the post, he wrote, “Last night in Eugene, Oregon, these criminals broke into a Federal Building, and did great damage, also scaring and harassing the hardworking employees. Local Police did nothing in order to stop it.” https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115991701359412321/embed
The post continued, with Trump referencing the anti-ICE Los Angeles protests in June last year, referring to them as riots. He ended the post warning people to “BEWARE” of ICE.
Fact check
Trump made claims about the unrest in downtown Eugene that do not match the full picture of what happened. Here’s a breakdown.
“Great Damage“
Friday evening’s unrest followed a day of peaceful demonstrations tied to the Jan. 30 “National Shutdown.” The situation shifted around 6 p.m., when about 300 people gathered downtown. Protesters interviewed by Lookout Eugene-Springfield said a window was broken around that time. Federal officers then intermittently deployed tear gas until about 10 p.m.
Lookout Eugene-Springfield surveyed and photographed the damage in daylight Saturday. Five glass panels were damaged. In the plaza facing Pearl Street near a rotating-door entrance, one panel was shattered and three others were cracked. Near the rotating-door entrance facing High Street, another panel was cracked.
By Saturday morning, workers were cutting large sheets of plywood to cover the windows. The plywood boarded up intact glass and patched shattered panels at the building’s entrances on Pearl and High streets.
“Local Police did nothing in order to stop it.”
Shortly after the first window was broken, the Eugene Police Department (EPD) responded to the federal building.
Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said Friday night that Eugene police intervened because only a few federal officers were on duty and property damage was occurring at the downtown building.
In response, about 15 EPD officers stood between the entrance of the building in the plaza and protesters.
Several EPD-marked vehicles lined Pearl Street, one in which police officers made the following announcement dozens of times: “This is the Eugene Police Department. You are engaged in an active riot. You are ordered to disperse the area immediately.”
The announcement went on to say tear gas might be deployed and arrests could be made if people didn’t leave.
Eugene police left shortly after 7 p.m. when federal reinforcements arrived from Portland. Federal officers then emerged from the building and deployed chemical agents to disperse the crowd.
The chemicals aloft were so heavy and strong that people immediately cleared the plaza, some running into the street and narrowly missing traffic.
Complaints were formally filed with Eugene’s Independent Police Auditor, prompting the office to announce Saturday that it had opened a preliminary investigation.
While the auditor’s office does not have the authority to review the conduct of federal officers, it will examine whether Eugene police violated any policies, procedures or relevant statutes, resolutions or laws, according to a press release sent to the media Saturday.
The press release did not specify the complaints.
Rosamond Press 
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