Eugene man charged after alleged riot damage at federal building

An 18-year-old Eugene man is facing a federal property charge after prosecutors said a Jan. 30 protest at the downtown Eugene federal building turned into a riot that left civilian employees inside fearing the building could be breached.

Soren Emery Polzin made his first appearance in federal court on May 5 and was ordered released pending future proceedings. He is charged with depredation of federal property after investigators said he repeatedly banged on and kicked the lobby window before shattering it with his lower body at the Eugene Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 211 E. 7th Avenue.

The damage drew federal attention because it went beyond broken glass. The U.S. Department of Justice said federal civilian employees were inside the building when windows and doors were damaged, and U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford said the harm was not limited to repair costs. He said the incident put workers at risk and disrupted security at a major federal facility in the center of Eugene.

The city of Eugene said the activity at the building was declared a riot at about 6 p.m. on Jan. 30 after glass was reported broken. Local reporting said several hundred people had gathered there earlier in the day for a protest tied to immigration enforcement. As the scene escalated, federal agents used flash-bangs, tear gas and pepper balls, and the building became a flashpoint in downtown Eugene, a place many residents pass every day on the edge of the city center.

The FBI said it continues to investigate people who used the situation to promote violence or extremist agendas. FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson said the bureau will keep pursuing those who exploit such incidents. The case also adds to a growing list of federal prosecutions tied to January’s unrest at the same site. Prosecutors separately announced a case against Ryan Bruce Gaither Jr., 37, over alleged Jan. 27 assaults on federal officers at the building.

The Eugene federal building itself is not a temporary stage for protest; it is a long-standing federal property built in 1975 and designed by Wilmsen, Endicott and Unthank. It remains part of the city’s daily civic landscape, while Eugene’s newer Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse, completed in 2006, houses the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. For Lane County, the Polzin case shows how a night of broken glass can become an active federal criminal case, with more arrests or charges still possible.