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Right-wing protests in Portland on Sunday culminated in a shootout when anti-fascist demonstrators fired at a man who shot them with a pistol on a downtown street.
The shootout took place in the heart of downtown Portland after 6 pm. When an anti-fascist chased a man at a distance trying to drive him out of the area, he hid behind a substation box, built a pistol, and fired. He fired at least two bullets before the anti-fascist returned the fire with his pistol. At least 7 bullets were fired.
The Portland Police Department confirmed that the man was arrested for shooting but had no information about the injury.
The incident took place after the day of protest fell into a clash involving hundreds of protesters and protesters.
That afternoon, in the eastern suburbs of the city, the Proud Boys fired bullets from airsoft guns, anti-fascists threw fireworks ammunition, and chaotically exchanged countless blows for mace clouds choking on both sides. Running street battles took up most of the hour.
The previous conflict, which began around 4 pm in the abandoned K-Mart parking lot where about 200 members of the far-right group staged a rally billed as a “Summer of Love” event, eventually turned into a busy highway. Nearby Park Rose High School.
Related: Portland officials and progressives unite to oppose the far-right protest
It began when a group of about 30 anti-fascists (almost all dressed in “black bloc”) passed a right-wing rally at 4 pm and were chased by the Proud Boys. The front yard of an adjacent gas station and convenience store was immediately struck by an explosion and gas-propelled airgun projectile.
Both sides temporarily left at around 4:15 pm, and the medics of both sides accompanied participants who were beaten, shot, or defeated by the mace.
But soon, as new battles spread across the streets into the high school grounds, traffic was congested and intermittently stopped.
There, the Proud Boys boarded a small pickup truck, broke windows, cut tires, scattered bottled water in the vehicle, and beat a male occupant violently.
When the anti-fascists withdrew from the parking lot, Proud Boys said, “Who’s street? Our city!”
When I returned to the parking lot, another vehicle turned sideways and the word “FAFO” was spray-painted. This is an acronym for Proud Boys’ catch cry “Fuck Around and Find Out.”
Proud Boys, who returned from high school around 5 pm, began leaving the rally venue. From a red pickup truck, a man fired an airsoft gun at a small number of anti-fascists gathered at the entrance to the parking lot, one of whom trained weapons in a reporter.
Proud Boys has announced its intention to cross the Columbia River and Washington state borders to reorganize in Vancouver’s city parks.
Even before the arrival of the black-clad group, the rally was held after the Proud Boys and other participants flowed out of a speaker platform adorned with a giant American flag and an 8-foot replica of the Goddess of Freedom. A group of three women waving placards against protests that were already away from their openly peaceful intentions.
During the turmoil in downtown streets and suburbs, Portland police were not found anywhere. A fire broke out near Second Avenue, and Taylor brought dozens of police officers to the cruiser, arrested the suspect and blocked the surrounding streets.
Asked about their absence in the Parkrose conflict, a spokesman for the Portland Police Department (PPB) emailed the advice given by police chief Chuck Lovell in the days leading up to the clash.
“As the chief said before today’s event, people should stay away and avoid physical conflicts,” a spokesman wrote, arrests may not take place at this time and may come the next day. He added that he couldn’t.
Mayor urges protesters to “choose love”
A 2:00 pm right-wing rally outside the northeastern part of the city was moved from its original venue on the waterfront of downtown Portland to a suburban location after anti-fascists began mobilizing to publicly oppose it. rice field.
Many of those anti-fascists continued to focus on the originally planned location of the right-wing rally on the waterfront in downtown Portland, with about 200 attending.
The activists were cautious, but almost peaceful early in the afternoon, but were faced by some suspected activists around the event. I’m being chased from near the park.
On Sunday, many proud boys had pistols, armed with batons, bottles of chemical spray, baseball bats, and at least one man had a pickaxe handle adorned with the Proud Boys insignia. rice field.
Towards the rally, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, other elected officials, and many progressive nonprofits urged protesters to “choose love” at virtual rallies and press conferences.
One of those nonprofits is the Western States Center. In a press release following the event of the day, Eric Ward, the secretary-general of the organization, said that “leaders from neighboring jurisdictions, states, and federal governments” were in Portland’s far-right city. Requested to help deal with the intrusion into. It has recurred since the beginning of the Trump era.
“The idea that Portland and other cities can defeat white supremacy with one hand is wrong,” Ward added.
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