Tensions grew Sunday at a “Trump Free Speech Rally” as the Portland Police threw pepper balls at anti-fascist (ANTIFA) counter-protesters. You can see that moment in the video above. Police had previously told the public they would take any means necessary to ensure the rally stayed peaceful.
The Portland Police Bureau had been on edge all of Sunday while monitoring the protesters at Terry Schrunk Plaza in downtown Portland. At least 14 arrests were made, and police have confiscated dozens of weapons throughout the rally, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
A compilation of conservative groups rallied in the city plaza to enact their “freedom of speech” rights at the “Trump Free Speech Rally.”
The host of the event, Joey Gibson (aka Patriot of Prayer) says in the Facebook event that the groups purposely chose to hold the rally in “one of the most liberal areas on the West Coast” in support of President Donald Trump.
The Portland Police Bureau has been under high pressure in the last month, and even more so in the last nine days because of the two men who were killed and one hurt after being stabbed on public transportation.
The attacker, Jeremy Christian, 35, was charged with aggravated murder and attempted murder after slitting the throats of Rick Best, 53, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, who tried to stop him from harming two Muslim women.
Due to the recent attack and turmoil in the city Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, pushed the federal government to not allow the event to take place, but since the mayor does not control permits for rallies at Terry Schrunk Plaza the federal government issued the permit for the Sunday rally.
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