Portland Police @PortlandPolice

Officers have made probable cause arrests in today’s demonstration around Terry Schrunk Plaza and Chapman Square. Ofcs are also seizing weapons.

Around 6 p.m. local time, Patriot Prayer initiated its permitted march, working its way along Third Avenue. But projectiles quickly began flying. Police then cancelled the permit, used bullhorns to declare the situation a riot and deployed flash bangs and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.

Scott Bourque@sdbourque1

Portland police have officially declared a riot and are ordering people to leave immediately.

“We seized numerous weapons early on, and interceded and separated people when necessary. However, once projectiles, such as fireworks, eggs, rocks, bottles and construction equipment were thrown and people were injured, we ordered people to disperse,” Deputy Police Chief Bob Day said in a statement.

Portland police disputed rumors that they had used tear gas.

They also said the four arrests made were not in relation to Saturday’s protests, and all were connected to investigations that began in early June and, in one case, late May.

In its statement, the police department also said it is aware other “criminal behavior” was recorded that may include disorderly conduct, assault, theft, among other crimes. They encouraged tips and said there may be more arrests “at a later time.”

The Federal Protective Service, among the law enforcement present Saturday, shut down the Terry Schrunk Federal Plaza as local police declared a riot.

Portland Police @PortlandPolice

Police are now declaring this event a riot. People must leave the area immediately.

Before Saturday, Eugene Antifa, a far-left group, posted on Facebook its intention to stymie groups like Patriot Prayer. “It is very important that antifascists keep up the pressure so that we can stop them once and for all,” it wrote.

During the protests, one of the far-right protesters later arrested by police, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese told KGW that his commitment to his Patriot Prayer “family” was unflappable. “If I have to die next to my family, to my brothers and sister (sic), that’s standing up for freedom in America, I will have to,” he said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote last year that Patriot Prayer had “trolled the Northwest with a series of rallies designed to provoke violence.” The group was behind a rally in San Francisco last year that was cancelled before it took place, after many had anticipated violent clashes.

Saturday’s protests follow previous confrontations between Patriot Prayer and anti-fascist groups in Oregon’s largest city.

Earlier last month, a “goodbye party for a prominent conservative activist transformed into a clash between the left and the right,” according to the Portland Tribune.

Last year saw thousands skirmish in fights between Patriot Prayer and counter-protesters at a rally following a stabbing on public transportation after a man reportedly harassed a woman wearing a hijab, as NPR’s Maquita Peters reported.

Separate “Families Belong Together” protests — decrying the Trump administration’s now rescinded policy of separating families at the border — erupted in cities around the country Saturday. Another part of downtown Portland played host to one such rally Saturday.

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Source: https://www.npr.org/2018/07/01/625095869/police-declare-a-riot-after-far-right-and-antifa-groups-clash-in-portland

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