10 arrested in Eugene protest against abortion ruling

Eugene police say 10 people were arrested during a protest on Friday night following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark abortion rights case Roe v . Wade.

The arrests were primarily for disorderly conduct, Portland television station KOIN reported. The protest began as a rally near an anti-abortion pregnancy center and reached about 75 people, the Eugene Police Department said. It drew a strong reaction from local law enforcement.

Eugene police said in a news release Saturday that protesters began gathering around 9:20 p.m., all wearing black clothing with masks and balaclavas.

Police said some of the protesters blocked the Ferry Street Bridge and threw smoke bombs at officers. The police department used a truck equipped with an LRAD or Long Range Acoustic Device – a loud device sometimes used to disperse crowds with loud sounds – and began arresting people in the roadway .

After the first arrest, the situation escalated, police said, with members of the crowd becoming “verbally hostile” to officers. The police department said some people got into fights with officers, and police then fired non-lethal “pepper balls” into the crowd. The crowd eventually left, the police department said.