Portland: Protesters Go Up Against Fascists—as Pigs Let the Reactionaries Attack
| revcom.us
The people of Portland, Oregon have been righteously protesting against police violence, white supremacy, and for Black lives for over 80 days now. On Saturday, August 22, some 200 pro-Trump fascists, including the Proud Boys and QAnon followers, staged a “Back the Blue” rally in front of the U.S. courthouse to support the police. Many carried American flags, shouted “USA, USA,” and some were openly armed, including with assault rifles, and wore tactical military gear.
In response, over 200 anti-fascist, Black Lives Matter protesters organized a righteous counter-protest. The fascists repeatedly charged into the anti-fascists, attacking them with pepper spray, paintballs, bats, fists, and more. At least one fascist drew a gun on protesters. The people refused to back down in the face of these reactionary threats and violence. They courageously stood their ground, and the stand-off lasted some three hours, with the anti-fascist, anti-white supremacy protesters refusing to back off and righteously defending themselves. The clash ended when, according to a Washington Post report, “the far-right crowd retreated to their cars.”
After doing nothing about Proud Boys assaulting counter protesters in Portland DHS is now attacking them as well. https://t.co/gbsW4KLqry
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) August 22, 2020
All this time the pigs—both the Portland police and the federal Department of Homeland Security forces deployed by Trump—did nothing to stop the violence being carried out by the fascists. When the fascists left, the official pigs called the Black Lives Matter and anti-fascist protesters an “illegal assembly” and forced them out of the park. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) released a statement outrageously claiming, “PPB members have been the focus of over 80 days of violent actions directed at the police, which is a major consideration for determining if police resources are necessary to interject between two groups with individuals who appear to be willingly engaging in physical confrontations for short durations.” Aside from the lying characterization of the Black Lives Matter and anti-fascist protesters as “violent,” these pigs are blaming the protesters for the police not stopping the fascist goons!
Fighting in the streets pic.twitter.com/8EnuhN5V4q
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) August 22, 2020
Feds come out and disperse, unlawful assembly declared after trump supporters leave pic.twitter.com/TI4i2GYKah
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) August 22, 2020
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