There is nothing straightforward about what is happening here in Portland.

After the arrival of federal troops this month it has morphed into something else.

There are still thousands of people who protest peacefully in support of Black Lives Matter each evening. But as night falls, a crowd surrounds the federal courthouse. Among them, a violent contingent who lob fireworks and push against the temporary metal fence separating the troops and the public.

For 11 nights tear gas and rubber bullets have been fired back at protesters. But their response is well-coordinated, repelling the CS gas with leaf blowers, the bullets with homemade shields.

There are troublemakers here, there’s no question. Some who clearly seek to antagonise and hurt the federal troops. They’re not the majority but images of this violence support Donald Trump’s narrative that this is a city under siege, overrun with anarchists.

The reality is very different, the picture far more complex.

The situation for most people has not changed, with the unrest confined to a few square blocks in the city centre.

Peaceful protesters are still by far the biggest demographic here, on the streets each evening to protest racial injustice. But after the president deployed federal troops earlier this month to protect memorials and federal property, more people have gathered to protest their mere presence in the city. As many peaceful protesters leave at night, the remaining crowd gets more angry and some violent.

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