Police declare riot after Far Right and Antifa groups face off in Portland: NPR



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Saturday's clashes were not the first of their kind. Above, antifa counter-protesters fought with supporters of the far-right Patriot Prayer during a march to Portland on June 3rd.

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Saturday's clashes were not the first of their kind. Above, counter-protesters antifa fought with supporters of the far-right Patriot Prayer during a march to Portland on June 3.

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

What began Saturday in downtown Portland as a march authorized by far-right group Patriot Prayer was quickly declared a riot and stopped by police after the altercations with the anti-fascist counter-demonstrators became be intensified.

Four people were transported to hospitals in the region by ambulance, one with a serious but not fatal injury and the other three with non-serious injuries. In addition, a patrol vehicle escorted a police officer who suffered non-serious injuries in a hospital, according to a statement from the Portland Police Department.

Police arrested four people, although all were connected with Saturday. 19659008]

Proponents of patriotic prayer, led by his incendiary leader Joey Gibson, candidate for the US Senate in Washington State, began to congregate in the parks along Third Avenue in downtown Vancouver. Portland Saturday afternoon.

Far-left antifa protesters gathered in similar or near numbers.

The two groups insulted each other through a strong presence of law enforcement forces, dressed in riot gear, to keep the two parties apart and to search for weapons.

At about 6 pm At the local time, Patriot Prayer began his authorized march, pioneering along Third Avenue. But the projectiles quickly began to fly. The police then canceled the permit, used loudspeakers to declare that the situation was a riot, and deployed flashes and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds

"We seized many weapons early in the morning. "Fireworks, eggs, rocks, bottles and construction equipment were thrown and injured, we ordered people to disperse," said Deputy Chief of Police Bob Day .

They also stated that the four arrests had nothing to do with Saturday's protests and that they were all related to investigations started in early June and, in one case, late May

. he is aware that other "criminal behaviors" have been recorded, including disorderly behavior, assault, theft, among other crimes. They encouraged tips and said that there could be more arrests "later".

The Federal Protection Service, among the forces present on Saturday, closed Federal Square Terry Schrunk while local police declared a riot. let's now declare this event a riot.

– Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 1, 2018

Before Saturday, Eugene Antifa, a far-left group, posted on Facebook his intention to block groups like Patriot Prayer . "It is very important that anti-fascists maintain the pressure so that we can stop them once and for all," he wrote.

During the demonstrations, one of the far right protesters was arrested by the police, Tusitala "Tiny" Toese KGW that his commitment to his "family" of patriotic prayer was unfazed. "If I have to die next to my family, my brothers and sisters, it's the defense of freedom in America, I will do it," he said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote last year that Patriot Prayer had "dragged the Northwest with a series of gatherings intended to provoke violence". The group was behind a rally in San Francisco last year that was canceled before it took place, after many had expected violent clashes.

Saturday's protests follow earlier clashes between Patriot Prayer and anti-fascist groups in Oregon's largest city.

Earlier last month, a "goodbye party for a prominent conservative activist turned into a conflict between left and right". in Portland Tribune .

Last year, thousands of clashes erupted between Patriot Prayer and counter-protesters after a stab in public transportation after a man allegedly harassed a woman wearing a hijab, as reported Maquita Peters.

Separated "Families Belong Together" protests – decrying the now-canceled policy of Trump's administration of separation of families at the border – broke out in cities across the country on Saturday. Another part of downtown Portland hosted such a rally on Saturday.

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