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| Portland braced for far-right rally and antifa counter-demo | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Far-right groups are rallying in the north-western US city of Portland, Oregon, amid fears of clashes with left-wing counter-protesters. | |
| Police are mounting a major operation to keep the two sides apart. | |
| The stated aim of the far-right gathering is to urge that the antifa (anti-fascist) movement be declared a domestic terror organisation. | The stated aim of the far-right gathering is to urge that the antifa (anti-fascist) movement be declared a domestic terror organisation. |
| Portland, one of the most liberal cities in the US, is regarded as an antifa stronghold. | Portland, one of the most liberal cities in the US, is regarded as an antifa stronghold. |
| Who's attending the rallies? | |
| The rally has mainly been promoted by Joe Biggs, a member of the far-right Proud Boys group and former employee of Alex Jones's Infowars. | |
| Proud Boys - which The Southern Poverty Law Center, a major US civil rights organisation, has classified as a hate group - have been involved in previous far-right rallies, and violent street clashes, in Portland. | |
| Proud Boys says incidents of violence allegedly involving members of the loosely organised antifa movement, an international coalition of militant activists and protesters opposed to the far right - justifies a ban. | Proud Boys says incidents of violence allegedly involving members of the loosely organised antifa movement, an international coalition of militant activists and protesters opposed to the far right - justifies a ban. |
| Members of the local Rose City Antifa group are mounting a counter-demonstration in the city. | |
| A statement on its website accuses far-right groups of planning "to bring their branded political violence to our streets" and encourages people "to defend Portland against far-right attack". | A statement on its website accuses far-right groups of planning "to bring their branded political violence to our streets" and encourages people "to defend Portland against far-right attack". |
| As well as Proud Boys, a number of other far-right groups have said they will be there - for example the American Guard, which the Anti-Defamation League has called "hardcore white supremacist", and the militia group Three Percenters. | |
| What's the background? | |
| It follows two years of increasingly violent rallies in Portland, many of which were organised by Joey Gibson, the leader of far-right group Patriot Prayer, who is currently facing criminal charges connected to a right-wing riot outside a bar in May. | |
| But organisers claim this particular rally is a response to an incident said to have taken place at the last far-right rally held in the city, in June. Then, the right-wing writer Andy Ngo had milkshakes thrown at him and was punched by counter-protesters. | |
| President Donald Trump has said the Portland situation is being closely watched by his administration, and indicated that naming antifa "an organisation of terror" was being considered. | |
| Mr Trump has previously mentioned white supremacists, as well as antifa as being a major issue. |