At least nine protesters were arrested as authorities broke up part of the protest camp surrounding Southwest Portland's Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters early Thursday morning.

Federal authorities issued a brief statement saying, in part, that "federal law enforcement officers initiated a law enforcement action to reopen" the building, which is on Southwest Macadam Avenue.

Shortly after 6 a.m., dozens of officers, some in riot gear, were lined up on the streets and outside the building entrance. Macadam had been blocked by police vehicles.

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A pile of what appeared to be parts of the camp was in the street, and officials loaded much of it into a truck and hauled it off.

By 7:30 a.m., the camp immediately surrounding the headquarters had been torn down. But much of the camp on adjacent properties remained.

Dozens of protesters continued to mill around Southwest Bancroft Street and Moody Avenue. They heckled a line of officers blocking access to the headquarters, but no clashes were reported.

Also about 7:30 a.m., vehicles were seen entering the driveway to the building, which had been blocked by protesters for more than week. About 20 minutes later, traffic began to flow on Macadam, Moody and Bancroft, though the part of Bancroft directly in front of the headquarters remained blocked.

Protesters had torn down at least one wooden wall that had been erected at the camp and were taking down a second wall, parallel to Bancroft.

ICE officials raised the flag above the headquarters about 9:30 a.m., drawing jeers from the crowd.

Protesters have been posted up outside the building in a round-the-clock occupation for well more than a week.

Robert Sperling, Federal Protective Service spokesman, said U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents in riot gear were on scene clearing federal property to facilitate the reopening of the building.

DHS is currently clearing the front of the building, arresting the people who were chained up and threatening people with felony charges. We are here holding shit down and we’re not going anywhere. Arrest us today, we’ll grow stronger tomorrow! #OccupyICEPDX — Abolish I.C.E PDX (@OccupyICEPDX) June 28, 2018

Sperling said about 5:30 a.m. authorities warned protesters it was time to move off of the federal facility. He said officers then moved onto the property and cleared the part of the camp on federal property.

He said officers were holding the line between federal property and private property. He said officers would be there "for a while, and continue to maintain the security of this facility."

He said there were no violent confrontations and that the action was "very calm."

Sperling said he didn't know the specific charges those who were arrested face.

According to a government source who was not authorized to speak to the media, all of the arrested protesters were brought to federal court, cited and released.

Sperling said the goal of Thursday's action was to provide access to the ICE building. Once that was accomplished, he said there were no plans to completely clear the encampment from the surrounding area.

When asked what would happen if protesters move back onto the property, Sperling replied: "We will be here for as long as we need to be."

Roberta Altstadt, spokeswoman for TriMet, which owns and leases out much of the property near the ICE headquarters, said the agency is "checking with property partners" after the Thursday morning action.

Yellow police tape separated a woman wrapped in a blue cardigan, who preferred to only go by her first name, Jean, from the police lined up about 2 feet in front of her. The 78-year-old Portland woman sat in a plastic chair knitting a red hat for charity.

"It's a matter of patriotic duty to be here and resist the evil that is ICE," said Jean, who took the bus to the ICE facility like she does every Thursday to participate in meditation walks. But this time when she was greeted by a different scene, she decided to join in.

The sign on her lap read "refugees welcome." Jean said she comes from a family with three generations in the military.

"A police state is not what they served their country for," she said.

Bob, 51, who prefers to only be identified by his first name, spent that past week camped out with other occupiers. "I swore to defend this Constitution against foreign and domestic terrorists," says Bob, who said he served in the Army during Desert Storm.

Bob, 51, who prefers to only be identified by his first name, briefly left the occupation site this morning. When he came back, his tent and belongings were gone and so were those of the three other veterans who had occupied the space directly in front of the facility's main gate with him. One of those veterans, he said, was among at least nine arrested Thursday.

"I swore to defend this Constitution against foreign and domestic terrorists," Bob said when asked why he'd chosen to spend that past week camped out with other occupiers.

Bob, who said he served in the Army during Desert Storm, said he's willing to take a bullet for the cause.

"The Constitution is not even worth toilet paper," said Bob, who added that he has been homeless by choice for the past seven years as he travels around the country writing about homeless services.

— Jim Ryan

Anna Spoerre and Kale Williams of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report