The Portland Police Department says four people were arrested during Saturday’s “Freedom Rally.” The event turned violent at times, with police using flash grenades to break up clashes between Antifa counter-protesters and the right-wing groups who had organized the event.
Police also said they had caught people throwing bottles and rocks at police officers during the protest.
Reports on social media say that police in Portland have been using flash grenades to break up violence between Antifa and right-wing protest groups at a rally today.
You can watch video of it here:
Residents of Portland were bracing for violence even before the rally began, as members of Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys arrived in Portland today for a “Freedom March.”
The Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer gathered at around noon today in a riverside park, while members of the far-left Antifa staked them out from across the street, holding banners and yelling, “Nazi go home.”
There were concerns that today’s event would lead to violent clashes — like last year’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. But an hour after the protest started, there were no real signs of violence. There is also a heavy police presence, with officers in riot gear keeping protesters and counter-protesters separate.
You can watch a livestream of the rally here:
https://www.koin.com/video/livestream
On Twitter, videos circulated that appeared to show members of Antifa destroying a Nazi flag:
Antifa is now shredding and attempting to burn a Nazi flag in downtown Portland. #DefendPDX #AlloutPDX
As the march started, police ordered counter-protesters to disperse. Authorities had reported spotted weapons in the crowd. You can see video here:
And more video, from another angle, here:
You can also watch the march from the Proud Boys’ perspective, here:
And you can see video of the police searching protesters for weapons here:
Portland police are trying to voluntarily pat down proud boys here, they are walking around asking people if they will consent to a pat down and are trying to take peoples weapons away. It’s not working!