Two simultaneous demonstrations were planned: a &"Trump Free Speech Rally," hosted by local conservative group Patriot Prayer, and an "anti-racism" counter rally. The former rally was organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, who said that he wanted to let Portland's right-wing minority know that "It's OK to be a conservative in Portland… [in] one of the most liberal areas of the West Coast."
The pro-Trump rally was answered by a counter-rally of pro-immigrant groups, which claimed that they wanted to "make a stand against hate and racism." Some of the protesters were clad in black and identified as anti-fascists or anarchists. They claimed that Patriot Prayer's rally was a tacit endorsement of racism and violence. The two groups protested in an uneasy peace, separated by a wall of armed and armored police officers, with the two sides reportedly lobbing insults at one another.
According to Portland police, the counter-demonstrators began to throw bricks, bottles, and containers of "foul-smelling liquid" at the the officers, who retaliated with flash-bang grenades and pepper balls to disperse the counter-demonstrators.
Panoramic from Portland #FREESPEECH Rally @ArthurCSchaper @bakedalaska @BrittPettibone @timpool @ProudBoysUSA @Oathkeepers pic.twitter.com/FGn3s8Cx6y
— adam roberts (@shuttershot45) June 5, 2017
Of the 14 arrested, three were cited and released while the others face charges such as disorderly conduct, carrying a concealed weapon and harassment of a police officer.
The rally came in the wake of a late-May incident in Portland, when 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian killed two men and severely injured a third when they tried to defend a pair of Muslim teenagers that he was reportedly menacing on a train. Christian had previously attended a pro-Trump rally in April, where he was videotaped making the Nazi salute. The unhinged assailant had previously made anti-Semitic, anti-Hillary Clinton and anti-Trump threats on his Facebook page.
Since then, the City of Roses has been at a stand-off. Democratic mayor Ted Wheeler tried to revoke the permit for Patriot Prayer's rally, claiming that it could further inflame tensions.
The #Antifa Fascists failed yet again to prevent #FreeSpeech in Portland as 14 thugs were arrested.pic.twitter.com/Uk4mThciME
— Red Pill Revolution (@RedPillRe) June 5, 2017
"I'm a strong supporter of the First Amendment no matter what the views are that are being expressed," Wheeler said during an interview with HLN on Friday, "but given the timing of this rally, I believed we had a case to make about the threats to public safety."
Wheeler was unsuccessful in stopping the protest, as federal authorities claimed he had no legitimate claim to prevent it.
Gibson admitted that his group's activities had attracted some "legitimate Nazis" such as Christian, who he described as "crazy" and "not a good guy."
More evidence of police and fascists working together against protestors in Portland. pic.twitter.com/97uG2ctQFM
— Elliott Young (@elliottyoungpdx) June 5, 2017
"Every single time I throw a rally, every single march, it's the same thing," he told reporters on Wednesday. "That what I'm going to do is dangerous, what I'm going to do is dangerous for the city because we are going to provoke other people to be violent against us."
