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A Day of Protest in Portland as ‘Proud Boys’ Converge on the City A Day of Protest in Portland as ‘Proud Boys’ Converge on the City
(32 minutes later)
PORTLAND, Ore. — Members of the right-wing Proud Boys and their supporters rallied in a Portland park on Saturday as leftist activists launched their own counter-rallies, raising the temperature of a city already on edge as officials pleaded for the ralliers to refrain from violence. PORTLAND, Ore. — Hundreds of law enforcement agents deployed across Portland swept in on Saturday to make targeted arrests, shut down intersections and seize weapons in a largely successful effort to keep opposing political rallies across the city from erupting into violent conflict.
Gov. Kate Brown had declared a state of emergency in advance of the arrival of the Proud Boys, an all-male group whose members — many of whom support President Trump — often engage in provocations, threats or fighting with opponents at their events. An event organized by the Proud Boys — a far-right group notorious for engaging in brawls — had led Gov. Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency ahead of the events, which also included rallies organized by local protest groups whose members had announced that the outside group was not welcome.
But as thousands gathered at three locations in the city — kept apart by a major law enforcement presence — the rallies unfolded during the afternoon with only a handful of confrontations and arrests. At the Proud Boys event, where some people wore tactical gear and carried weapons, there was some brief conflict when a handful of outsiders arrived and were quickly surrounded by a crowd. Video posted by a local journalist showed a man kicking someone who had been knocked to the ground. Police said they were investigating the assault.
Downtown Portland has been rocked by protests this summer, first over the police killings of Black people, and later over the Trump administration’s move to send federal agents to the city in an attempt to quell the demonstrations. And demonstrations across the United States kicked up again this week after a grand jury in Kentucky decided not to indict either of the two Louisville police officers who shot Breonna Taylor, a Black emergency room technician, in her own apartment. About half a mile away, at an event on the other side of Interstate 5, about 200 people gathered peacefully with Black Lives Matter flags and made presentations about the history of that corner of the city, where many Black families first established roots during World War II.
As a series of speeches for the Proud Boys event was getting underway at midday at Delta Park on the north end of Portland, about 1,000 people — many with protective gear and plastic shields and some with guns — were mingling, drinking and shouting. Some in the crowd broke into expletive-filled chants against antifa, the loose group of activists who sometimes use violence to stop people from promoting views they deem fascist or racist. A pile of wooden shields sat stacked in a parking lot. Dre Miller, an activist with one of the organizing groups, said the groups had been approached by city officials asking them not to go forward with the event because of the possibility of conflict. But he said the group took precautions, including setting up a car caravan to minimize chances of conflict as ralliers departed the event. And by sticking to their goals of highlighting the history of racism in the neighborhood where the Proud Boys had scheduled their rally, he said, the gathering was one of the most peaceful he had been to in recent weeks.
There were several confrontations when people suspected by members of the crowd of being antifa activists walked into the area. Large groups of people swarmed at least two men and pushed them toward the edge of the park. Even as some of the Proud Boys leaders encouraged their followers to leave the men alone, some people stayed and continued to argue. “Our Black organizers are going to stick together and stick to the message,” he told the crowd.
A few Portland police officers, who had largely stayed away from the center of the event, briefly entered the park and tried to defuse the skirmishes. A helicopter circled overhead as the event began with the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, and a host of speakers began condemning the racial justice protesters who have gone nightly into Portland’s streets, as well as the city’s leaders. The Proud Boys chairman, Enrique Tarrio, said he was grateful that the police presence — estimated by the Oregon State Police at 500 officers — had kept the groups apart.
A coalition of left-wing groups gathered for a demonstration in an area of the city known as Vanport, just down the street from the Proud Boys event. Another event promoted by Portland residents — labeled “Bloom” and promising crafts and other activities — was also getting underway downtown, miles from Delta Park. “We got all of our speakers on stage, we got to say what we wanted to say, we did what we wanted to do, and now we’re out of town,” Mr. Tarrio said on Saturday afternoon.
By about 1:30 p.m., about 450 people were present at the Peninsula Park “Bloom” event, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said in a Saturday afternoon update. Political and law enforcement officials had expressed fears that Saturday’s competing events could become violent, as they have in weeks and years past, especially with recent gunshots fired by both sides on the streets of Portland and the tensions of a presidential campaign.
Three people had been arrested so far, the Sheriff’s Office said. Officers had also confiscated at least two hardened shields, which were being distributed at both places. “We will seize weapons and shields as can be done safely and as resources allow,” a spokesperson said. But what was setting up to be a violent showdown in the middle of downtown Portland began to change when the Proud Boys altered their plans, moving their rally to a relatively remote park on the northern edge of the city, while groups such as Rose City Antifa announced that they would gather at a different park miles away.
At the Proud Boys event, a man told those who had come together in the early afternoon that he had 30 shields to give out. The man arrived at the gathering with vehicles emblazoned with the words “American Wolf,” seemingly referencing an armed civilian militia-like group based in Washington State. Downtown Portland has been rocked by protests this summer, first over the police killings of Black people, and later over the Trump administration’s move to send federal agents to the city in an attempt to quell the demonstrations.
At the “Bloom” event downtown, a group of black-clad demonstrators loaded their own makeshift plastic shields from a bus on their way to the rally, while medical crews set up tents. They have escalated on recent weekends, when right-wing groups and racial justice protesters have engaged in the streets. In one case, authorities said, a right-wing activist in mid-August fired gunshots from a vehicle. At another, a right-wing activist brandished a gun. An antifa supporter shot and killed a far-right demonstrator during a clash on Aug. 29, the police said.
Portland has not been the only scene of unrest across the country. Demonstrations across the country kicked up after a grand jury in Kentucky decided not to indict either of the two Louisville police officers who shot Breonna Taylor, a Black emergency room technician, in her own apartment.
But Louisville’s interim police chief, Robert Schroeder, said Saturday that crowds in recent days had been smaller than expected. Additional protests were planned Saturday night.
The Proud Boys had billed their event in Portland as an opportunity to counter the city’s long-running racial justice protests, with Mr. Tarrio posting online that “antifa is in for a bad time” if law enforcement was not present for the event.
Several hundred people gathered at Delta Park on the city’s north edge, mingling, drinking and shouting. Some in the crowd broke into expletive-filled chants against antifa, the loose group of activists who sometimes use violence to stop people from promoting views they deem fascist or racist.
In addition to the assault reported by the police, there were several other confrontations when people suspected by members of the crowd of being antifa activists walked into the area.
A few Portland police officers, who had largely stayed away from the center of the event, briefly entered the park and tried to defuse the skirmishes. A helicopter circled overhead as the event began with the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, and a host of speakers began condemning the racial justice protesters who have gone nightly into Portland’s streets, as well as the city’s leaders.
Along with the Black-led event nearby, hundreds of other local protesters gathered a few miles away at Peninsula Park for an event that promised crafts and other activities. A group of black-clad demonstrators loaded their own makeshift plastic shields from a bus on their way to the rally, while medical crews set up tents.
Doreen McGrath, a 63-year-old activist, said she had driven in with a group of about 25 people from Seattle. Their group stood on the outskirts of the gathering, chanting and waving signs. “Hey there, Proud Boys, you better hide,” they chanted. “We can see your fascist side.”Doreen McGrath, a 63-year-old activist, said she had driven in with a group of about 25 people from Seattle. Their group stood on the outskirts of the gathering, chanting and waving signs. “Hey there, Proud Boys, you better hide,” they chanted. “We can see your fascist side.”
Alex Sundine, a member of Black Unity PDX, an activist group in Portland, said the organizers of the second counter-rally, the one being held about a half-mile away from Proud Boys event, planned to focus on their own event and ignore any efforts by the Proud Boys members to engage them. Authorities reported arresting three people, and officers also confiscated at least two hardened shields. “We will seize weapons and shields as can be done safely and as resources allow,” a spokesman said.
Among other things, organizers there said they would discuss the history of the Vanport neighborhood, a former home to many Black shipbuilders who were kept out of Portland by discriminatory housing practices. The city was destroyed when the Columbia River flooded it in 1948, and part of it was later turned into Delta Park, the site the Proud Boys members chose for their rally. The scene was different at the Proud Boys event, where a man told those who had come together in the early afternoon that he had 30 shields to give out. The man arrived at the gathering with vehicles emblazoned with the words “American Wolf,” seemingly referencing an armed civilian militia-like group based in Washington State.
“It’s a history lesson almost to make people aware of what that land was and what it means — and a reminder of how our society treats Black people,” Mr. Sundine said. Later, the Portland Police pulled over a truck carrying Proud Boys supporters as they were leaving the event and seized guns, baseball bats and several shields.
About 200 people were gathered for the event by noon on Saturday, holding Black Lives Matter flags and signs such as “Cops, Feds, and Fascists Out Of Portland Now!” The Proud Boys has strongly criticized Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland for not taking a stronger line against the protesters who clashed with agents outside of a federal courthouse downtown in nightly confrontations over several weeks. The Proud Boys welcomed Ms. Brown’s emergency order, which also allowed state and local police to use tear gas, which the mayor had banned city police officers from using.
Even as he publicly condemned anyone hoping for violence, Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, acknowledged in an interview on Friday that skirmishes were possible, if not likely. In a statement last week, Mr. Wheeler, a Democrat, said he feared the arrival of Saturday’s demonstrators more than the ongoing demonstrations against racial injustice in his city.
“I’d be stupid to say that I don’t expect someone to come in with some type of nefarious motives,” he said, pledging to report any such person to the police.
Earlier in the month, Mr. Tarrio posted online that “antifa is in for a bad time” if law enforcement was not present for the event.
The group has strongly criticized Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland for not taking a stronger line against the protesters who clashed with agents outside of a federal courthouse downtown in nightly confrontations over several weeks. The Proud Boys welcomed Ms. Brown’s emergency order, which also allowed state and local police to use tear gas, which the mayor had banned city police officers from using.
In a statement this week, Mr. Wheeler, a Democrat, said he feared the arrival of Saturday’s demonstrators more than the ongoing demonstrations against racial injustice in his city.
“I categorically condemn violence of all kinds by all people,” Mr. Wheeler said in a statement. “But let me be clear, the alt-right and white supremacist groups organizing to come to Portland on Saturday present the greatest threat we’ve faced so far.”“I categorically condemn violence of all kinds by all people,” Mr. Wheeler said in a statement. “But let me be clear, the alt-right and white supremacist groups organizing to come to Portland on Saturday present the greatest threat we’ve faced so far.”
Portland has a long history of left-wing activists organizing to confront white supremacists or other far-right groups. Some incidents occurred as the city’s progressive organizers tried to quash some of the most explicit remnants of the region’s troubled racial history, which included Oregon’s status as the only non-slavery state to join the union with a constitutional clause that excluded Black people. The protests over police violence and racial justice has continued not just in Portland, but in cities across the country.
In the Trump era, a variety of right-wing groups, including the Proud Boys, have organized events in the city, some with the explicit intention of spurring confrontations with local activists. Leftists, including those who are part of the collective Rose City Antifa, one of the more prominent and organized antifa groups, have gathered to oppose them. Protesters in Louisville faced off with the police again on Friday evening, with the police firing flash-bang grenades and arresting 22 people; a few hundred people marched through the city on Saturday evening.
“The anti-fascist position has always been: never let fascists control the streets,” said Joseph Lowndes, a professor of political science at the University of Oregon who researches right-wing political trends. Mr. Lowndes said that while events that draw groups like the Proud Boys often lead to violence, he worried that recent events in Portland — including an antifa supporter’s killing in August of Aaron J. Danielson, an activist with the far-right group Patriot Prayer — raises the prospect of even more confrontation.
The unrest over police violence and racial justice has continued not just in Portland, but in cities across the country.
Protesters in Louisville faced off with the police again on Friday evening, with the police firing flash-bang grenades and arresting 22 people; more protests were planned for Saturday. In New York, hundreds of demonstrators held a sit-in for more than an hour on the Brooklyn Bridge, where many took a knee in honor of Ms. Taylor. People also took to the streets in Oakland, Seattle, Boston and Albuquerque, where a motorist reportedly tried to drive a car through the crowd, though no one was reported injured.
In Philadelphia on Saturday, dozens of Proud Boys marched through downtown city streets, followed by police officers on bikes. Some carried American flags and Trump 2020 flags while chanting derogatory comments about antifa, videos on social media showed. Some onlookers heckled them, mocking their appearance and clothing.In Philadelphia on Saturday, dozens of Proud Boys marched through downtown city streets, followed by police officers on bikes. Some carried American flags and Trump 2020 flags while chanting derogatory comments about antifa, videos on social media showed. Some onlookers heckled them, mocking their appearance and clothing.
Kaitlin Gillespie in Portland and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio in New York contributed reporting. As the Proud Boys rally came to an end in Portland, police directed traffic out of the park, funneling motorists directly onto a freeway that would take them over the Columbia River — out of the city and out of the state.
Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio contributed reporting from New York and Will Wright from Louisville, Ky.