Portland residents protest the city's policies toward the homeless with torches and pitchforks. Mary Silva

Residents of Portland, Ore., gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday to protest the government's treatment of its homeless population. The group, a self-described "angry mob," carried pitchforks and torches while demanding that Mayor Charlie Hales end policies that criminalize homelessness.

The city government has come under fire in recent months for enforcing an ordinance that prohibits camping on public property, which critics say unfairly targets the homeless.

A 2013 city count found nearly 1,900 individuals in the Portland metropolitan area to be homeless and unsheltered, a 10 percent increase from 2011.