Portland police arrest 3 at right-wing rally
PORTLAND, ORE. — Police arrested three people at a right-wing rally Saturday afternoon in Portland, Oregon, and authorities say they’re also investigating an assault after one personwho was documenting the event was pushed to the ground and kicked in the face.
Several hundred people, dozens of themwearing militarized body armor, had gathered — far fewer than the 10,000 organizers had expectedtoshowtosupport PresidentDonaldTrumpand his “law and order” reelectioncampaignastensionsboil overnationwidefollowingthe decision not to charge officers in Louisville, Kentucky, for killing Breonna Taylor.
The event began at noon andwas largely dispersed by 3 p.m. The Oregon Department of Transportation shut downthe interstate highway for a brief time tohelp control the crowd and flowof traffic.
The people arrested include a man suspected of driving under the influence and a woman for an outstanding arrestwarrant, Liedle said.
Dozens began to showup two hours before the rally, some packed into the beds of pickup trucks. Manywere wearing some sort of militarized body armor, including helmets and protective vests. Many flew American flags or black flags bearing the logo of the Three Percenters, another far-right group and someworeMake America Great Again hats.
The Proud Boys, a group that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, described it as a free speech event to support Trumpand the police, restore law and order and condemn anti-fascists, “domestic terrorism”
and “violent gangs of rioting felons” in the streets. Local and state elected officials forcefully condemned the event and rushed to shore up law enforcement ranks as left-wing groups organized several rallies to oppose the Proud Boys’ message.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Friday said she was sending state troopers to help the Portlandpoliceandwascreating a unifiedcommandstructureamongcity, regionaland state law enforcement — a tactic that essentially circumvents a city ban on the use of tear gas as a crowd-control measure.
“This is a criticalmoment.
We have seenwhat happens when armed vigilantes take matters into theirownhands. We’ve seen it in Charlottesville, we’ve seen it in Kenosha and, unfortunately, we have seen it in Portland,” she said, referencing deaths in Virginia, Wisconsin andOregon during clashes between those on the right and left of the political spectrum.
“The Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer groups have come time and time again looking for a fight, and the resultsarealwaystragic,” said Brown, aDemocrat. “Letme be perfectly clear, we will not tolerate any type of violence this weekend.”