PORTLAND, Ore. Right-wing and left-wing groups clash in front of the U.S. courthouse in Portland, Ore. .
A group of about 200 protesters, including members of the Proud Boys and families supporting the police, gathered at the direction of the courthouse beginning at 11 p.m. Many of them carried American flags, while others carried assault rifles and tactical military gear.
Almost immediately, a similar number of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered across the street, many dressed in all black and wearing shields as paintball guns.
Within an hour, the call turned to violence.
Paintballs flew between the two sides. Bottles sour back and forth. Shoves were punches. When Protestants who were defeated with pepper spray retreated, others came forward to take their place.
The whole moment saw policemen from a distance and chose not to intervene.
The Portland Police Bureau said in a news release that it did not declare a riot because staff were limited to the number of protesters and weapons present.
The statement said weeks of “violent action aimed at the police” were “an important consideration in determining whether police funds are needed to intervene between two groups of individuals who appear willing to engage in short-term physical confrontations. . “
Several people were grabbed or hit with objects, although it did not turn out to be seriously injured. Mike Redwood, a Black Lives Matter protester, said he was hit in the face with a stick and Tased during an altercation with protesters from the right.
“I still have all my teeth and nothing is broken, so I think it’s not that bad to hit with a bat,” he said while holding an ice pack to his cheek.
For about three hours, both sides were in almost constant conflict, many violently. Mr Redwood said he and several other Black Lives Matter Protestants had occupied part of the street, and that he was holding his ground as the opponent’s line advanced.
After a majority of right-wing protesters were on the left, police declared the public unlawful and dispersed them.
Mr Redwood said it was one of the fiercest confrontations he had seen between right-wing and left-wing protesters in Portland.
“I have not seen it so far,” he said.
Portland has been the site of some of the most visible Black Lives Matter protests in the country since George Floyd was assassinated in police custody in Minneapolis in late May. There have been protests of changing downtown for more than 80 days.
The regular demonstrations prompted President Trump to send federal agents to protect the U.S. courthouse, a movement that mothers, veterans and nurses considered a provocation and protested against. Those agents, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas at Protestants, have since been withdrawn, and rallies have continued.
Susan Schaffer, who lives in Portland and participated in the pro-police rally, said she was killed by the death of Mr. Floyd. However, she said she thought the protests were allowed to continue for too long and with too much linearity from local leaders.
Karen Mann, who came to join the Protestants from Salem, said she was partly inspired to attend when her house collapsed after she put a Trump sign in her yard.
The protests in Portland have fueled that hostility, she said.
“Why can I not say I support Trump? I could do that without being intimidated, ‘she said. “They really want to destroy anyone who is center-right or center.”
Removed from the pepper spray that hung in the air, Andrew Benjamin said he was afraid Mr. Trump and other conservative politicians would say Saturday’s protest was an example of chaos caused by the Black Lives Matter movement.
“They will say Portland is burning – Portland is not burning,” Mr Benjamin said. ‘This is one side of one block. It’s not even downtown, it’s here, for that building. ”
