Tag: Portland, Oregon

Over the past six weeks, Wheeler has tried to end the alarmingly violent street protests sparked by out-of-state Trump supporters. "I'm willing to take criticism all day long from Fox News, but I am not willing to accept criticism from Fox News of the men and women of the Portland Police Bureau," he said. On Oct. 18, civil liberties advocates met with the mayor to propose a series of fixes to the city's street brawls between right-wing extremists and Antifa, rather than the measure he was supporting (which ended up failing for lack of support from city commissioners who were worried Wheeler's proposal was unconstitutional). And yet it is very clear Wheeler never had the support needed for his ordinance to control violent protests but decided to bring it to a vote anyway. The mayor knew he didn't have the votes, but his staffers say they wanted to show supporters of law and order that the mayor wouldn't cave. At the same time, say City Hall observers, not compromising looks a lot like giving up. When Wheeler announced his ordinance, it wasn't difficult for reporters to find legal experts critical of the measure and its constraints on free speech. When the measure failed to get enough votes at City Hall, Wheeler turned on the news media and blamed them. The week ended on a much stronger note for Wheeler—because his police force learned from its mistakes and tried new tactics. Now Wheeler finds himself much where he started—Fox News again did a segment decrying violence at Portland protests, but this time without mentioning the mayor.

An occupation of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) building in Portland attracted more protesters on Wednesday, growing from a rally in response to the Trump administration policy of separating parents from children at the southern border. Donald Trump signs executive order to end family separations Read more Around 6.45pm, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) vehicles blocked a facing street and moved in on the building’s western entrance. Officers parted protesters and entered the building. Quick guide Why are families being separated at US border? Why are children being separated from their families? What happens to the children? Can these children be reunited with their parents? When an influx of families and unaccompanied children fleeing Central America arrived at the border in 2014, Barack Obama’s administration detained families. Later, the driver appeared to accelerate and glancingly hit a protester, Juliette Morgans, who was filming the incident. They come here seeking safety and asylum, and they get violence protester People were spread around the perimeter of the Ice facility, blocking entrances to buildings and car parks .

On Sunday afternoon, members of a far-right group led by a Republican Senate candidate engaged in running brawls with leftist counter-protesters in the streets of downtown Portland. One rightwing protester was dragged away by police with a bloodied nose and face. Over almost three hours, Patriot Prayer staged a series of marches through surrounding streets. Each time, antifascists pursued them and fights broke out on sidewalks, in a parking garage and in a waterfront park. Participants on both sides were knocked to the ground, hit with missiles and visibly incapacitated by pepper spray. The rally was ostensibly staged as a farewell for a prominent Patriot Prayer member, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, who says he is returning to his native Samoa. Police deployed a range of tactics. The event took place a day before the first anniversary of a much larger Patriot Prayer event that featured many celebrities from the “alt-right” movement and drew thousands of counter-protesters. It was staged just over a week after a double murder on a Portland commuter train police say was carried out by Jeremy Christian, a man who had attended a Patriot Prayer event. On Sunday, along with several members of the “Proud Boys” group, the Patriot Prayer event attracted members of the far right “Hell Shaking Street Preachers”, whose banners and T-shirts carry homophobic slogans.