Proud Boys March in Portland Draws Hundreds of Right-Wing Protesters
About 200 people, dozens of them wearing militarized body armor, gathered in Portland, Oregon, for a right-wing rally Saturday.
They were far fewer than the thousands expected to show to support President Donald Trump and his “law and order” reelection campaign as tensions boil over nationwide following the decision not to charge officers in Louisville, Kentucky, for killing Breonna Taylor.
Dozens began to show up two hours before the rally that began at noon, some packed into the beds of pickup trucks.
Many were wearing some sort of militarized body armor, including helmets and protective vests.
Many flew American flags or black flags bearing the logo of the Three Percenters, another far-right group and some wore Make America Great Again hats.
The Proud Boys, a group that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, described it as a free speech event to support Trump and the police, restore law and order and condemn anti-fascists, “domestic terrorism” and “violent gangs of rioting felons” in the streets.
Local and state elected officials forcefully condemned the event and rushed to shore up law enforcement ranks as left-wing groups organized several rallies to oppose the Proud Boys’ message.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Friday said she was sending state troopers to help the Portland police and was creating a unified command structure among city, regional and state law enforcement – a tactic that essentially circumvents a city ban on the use of tear gas as a crowd-control measure.
The state police said a “massive influx” of troopers would be in Portland by Saturday morning.
The Proud Boys are self-described “Western chauvinists” and they have held multiple events in Portland since Trump’s election alongside other right-wing groups such as Patriot Prayer that often end in violent clashes with left-wing counter-demonstrators.
The Proud Boys raised the specter of a vigilante response to the actions of a “mob” in a permit application filed with the city this week.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the city and its police force did not need or want help from “paramilitaries or vigilante groups.”
Police have canceled all scheduled days off for officers Saturday and will primarily be focused on keeping dueling groups of protesters separated.
The rally comes as Portland approaches its fifth month of almost nightly protests against racial injustice and police brutality.
Aerial views over the area of the rally showed police vehicles and personnel parked nearby, as another rally was also underway in a grassy area on the other side of a roadway.
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