- A “vet wall” joined the front lines of the protests in Portland, Oregon on Friday, the New York Times reported.
- Military veterans joined the protests to support protesters’ rights to freedom of expression a week after a navy veteran was hit by a federal officer after approaching them to ask a question, according to the report.
- Veterans lined up in front of a fence outside federal court and stayed there until tear gas broke through the crowd.
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A veterans wall joined protests in Portland, Oregon on Friday to support protesters’ rights to freedom of expression, reported Mike Baker of the New York Times.
The “Veterinarians’ Wall” joins other groups that have come together to protect protesters, including the “Mom’s Wall” and the “Dad’s Wall.”
The veterans lined up in front of a fence outside federal court, the Times reported. They stayed there until tear gas broke through the crowd.
There have been ongoing protests in Portland for two months since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in May. In the past two weeks, protesters have clashed with federal agents deployed by President Donald Trump to quell protests over police violence.
Local officials, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon Governor Kate Brown, asked federal agents to leave the city, saying the actions, including the use of tear gas, force and lead to protesters in unmarked trucks are making matters worse.
In one incident, federal agents beat Christopher J. David, a navy veteran, with a baton and sprayed him with pepper spray after he asked if they felt his actions violated the constitution, the Times reported.
The incident was one of the reasons the veterans wall was motivated to form, Duston Obermeyer, a Marine Corps veteran, told the Times.
Early Sunday morning, police declared riots in downtown Portland after protesters tore down a fence surrounding federal court during a night of protests. Federal agents then “deployed multiple rounds of tear gas,” The Oregonian reported.
