A far-right rally at a North Portland city park, and simultaneous demonstrations opposing it, placed the city on high alert Saturday morning as the events began to unfold.
Several hundred people affiliated with Proud Boys, a loosely organized, far-right group designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, filled Delta Park. The group put out a nationwide call for the event.
Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency Friday ahead of the rally. Brown shifted law enforcement command to state police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. Both agencies, as well as Portland police, have said officers' main goal is to keep the far-right demonstrators apart from opposing protesters.
Those groups converged at two other North Portland locations: near a historical marker a half-mile away and at Peninsula Park three miles away. By noon Saturday, hundreds of people had gathered at both places.
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12:45 p.m., Proud Boys, Delta Park: A rally continued with about 500 people, at least half wearing tactical gear or carrying weapons ranging from handguns to paintball guns. Few wore face masks.
Maureen Peltier stood among the crowd. She said she has long supported far-right causes in Oregon, including the 2016 takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Peltier said the people traveled as far away Texas, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi for the event.
She connected the turnout to the ongoing protests in Portland, and the killing of Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a Patriot Prayer member shot Aug. 29. “There seems to be a population of corrupt citizens violating the rights of other citizens, and I oppose that,” Peltier said.
12:30 p.m., Counter-protesters, Vanport historical marker: A couple hundred people listened to a series of speakers discuss the history of Vanport and its historical significance to the Black community.
Andre Miller, who is Black, said his parents and grandparents were affected by the floods. His father was born three years before.
“He grew up to be a Black Panther here in Portland, Oregon, and that’s why I take of (being) a Black leader here,” Miller said.
12:15 p.m., Counter-protesters, Peninsula Park: More than 300 people have converged near Black Lives Matter banners. Police remained on the streets next to the park and arrested at least one person on the perimeter of the event.
11:45 a.m. Proud Boys, Delta Park: A Proud Boys crowd formed around a single person in all-black gear, whom people believed was “antifa.” The person was wearing a motorcycle helmet with a sticker that said, “No justice, no peace,” a common chant at nightly protests to end police violence.
As people tried to march that person out of the park, some members of the crowd also grew hostile toward reporters. “This is our safe space, and I think it’s time we kick you out,” a woman yelled at a National Geographic journalist.
The person forced out by Proud Boys later identified himself as “Tom” to an Oregonian/OregonLive journalist. He said he just came to see what this is all about.
Proud Boys members also formed a crowd around a second person, John Hacker, a well-known streamer who regularly attends protests on Portland and is viewed as an antagonizer. People yelled at him to leave.
Plain-clothes Portland liaison officers wearing bullet-proof vests arrived and began talking to people in the crowd, including with Proud Boy chairman Enrique Tarrio, who traveled from out of state to the event. Tarrio pointed out Hacker. Police told Hacker to consider leaving. He stayed.
Soon after, most people’s attention turned to a rally, set up in front of a giant American flag.
11:30 a.m., Counter-protesters, Peninsula Park: Dozens of people collected in opposition of the Proud Boys demonstration. Organizers of this event, namely PopMob PDX, have said they do not plan to march to Delta Park nearly three miles away.
Still, as counter-demonstrators started to gather at Peninsula Park, so did Portland police. State, county and local officials have said they will work to to keep the groups apart. Multnomah County said officers confiscated a wooden shield from one person at the park. Homemade shields are a common sight at nightly protests organized by leftist groups, which often clash with police.
11 a.m., Proud Boys, Delta Park: Several hundred people affiliated with Proud Boys have amassed in the park. Some demonstrators are carrying guns, baseball bats, magazine clips, knives or batons. Militia members armed with different types of weapons are also posted throughout the park. One asked to check the credentials of Oregonian/OregonLive journalists.
Many of the protesters wore clothing or flew flags in support of President Donald Trump and police.
Some Portland police officers stood in uniform at the north and south ends of the park.
Linda Winieki, of nonprofit Love Talks Baby, set up a tent near the north entrance of the park to help people who are homeless, who may be displaced by the day’s protests.
“We came here today because we stand for peace, trying to set an example for all the activist groups,” she said. “We’re here as a safe group for anyone who wants a hate-free zone.”
10:30 a.m., Counter-protesters, Vanport historical marker: Counter-protesters, organized by a Black-led group, began to gather a half-mile away from Delta Park. Organizer Chrissy Wood, 33, said she and other leaders had no plans to interact directly with the Proud Boys.
Instead, the rally at Vanport is meant to reflect on the history of the area, which a community flooded out in 1948. At the time of the flood, about a third of the development’s residents were Black. The Portland area’s overall African American population was around 6%. Wood said the family of one event organizer lived in Vanport before the floods.
“We are here to own this space, and recognize the city of what it was to the city,” said Wood, with J.U.I.C.E. PDX. “We’re trying to bring that awareness to here in a non-violent way.”
She said protesters would then leave on buses to go to a separate North Portland park, and from there, march to a Black-owned business.
9:30 a.m., Proud Boys, Delta Park: State troopers started to stage in Delta Park as Proud Boys members began to stream in. A block away, a construction sign displayed a flashing message, “Hate has no place here. Black lives matter.”
Oregon State Police Supt. Travis Hampton promised a “massive influx of Oregon state troopers” to keep Proud Boys separate from any opposing demonstrators. Hampton said state police would be “saturating” North Portland.
Most stores and restaurants near Delta Park closed. Wooden pallets block the entrance to Walmart, next to the park. The entrance to a furniture store across the street is covered with plywood. Private security guards are patrolling the area.
Prior to Saturday’s events:
Local and state leaders expressed serious concern about the intentions of the Proud Boys. A poster circulated for Saturday’s “End Domestic Terrorism” rally encourages people to "do it for Jay.” Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a Patriot Prayer member, was shot and killed Aug. 29 in Portland by self-described anti-fascist Michael Reinoehl, who was killed by police days later in Washington.
Danielson’s killing followed a mobile Trump rally that streamed into downtown Portland. Some participants clashed with left-leaning groups. Portland police have come under criticism for historically failing to keep the groups apart. Police have said have blamed a lack of officers to adequately cover the events.
Portland has a long history of bloody clashes between far-right and far-left groups, although they have happened with increased frequency since the 2016 election, most notably organized by Patriot Prayer.
Hampton had expressed reserve earlier in the week about helping Portland, citing Mayor Ted Wheeler’s ban on tear gas. With state and county law enforcement in charge, officers will be able use gas.
State police also arranged for some Portland officers to be federally deputized. Wheeler’s chief of staff, Kristin Dennis, said planning for the event has brought together local, regional and state agencies, as well as private groups. “There’s been a lot of people trying to figure out how can we use the limited city resources that we have to keep people safe,” Dennis said.
-- Maxine Bernstein, Noelle Crombie, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Fedor Zarkhin
Everton Bailey Jr., Mark Graves, Dave Killen, Sean Meagher, Beth Nakamura and K. Rambo of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report, which will be updated throughout Saturday.
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