Weekend Portland protest to bring ‘massive influx’ of OSP troopers, law enforcement
(Update: Adding law enforcement, U.S. Attorney, House speaker statements)
Gov. Brown 'incredibly concerned' about threat of violence
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A “massive influx” of Oregon State Police will be part of a joint law enforcement effort over the weekend to keep the peace amid major protest rallies a few miles apart in north Portland, OSP Superintendent Travis Hampton said Friday.
The right-wing group Proud Boys plans a rally in Portland this Saturday to support President Donald Trump and the police.
Gov. Kate Brown said she exercised her executive authority to put Hampton and Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese in charge of a unified command ahead of the weekend protests, with a “significant crowd” expected.
“These types of demonstrations in the past have often ended in fist fights, and sometimes escalated to bloodshed," Brown said. "Whether you’re a left wing, right wing, or anything in between, violence is never the answer. I am incredibly concerned about the increased risk of violence in Portland this weekend and for the safety of all Oregonians.”
Portland Police Chief Chuck Leavell also spoke at Friday’s briefing on plans to deal with whatever occurs.
The right-wing group Proud Boys plans a rally in Portland this Saturday to support President Donald Trump and the police. Counter-protests by Black Lives Matter and other groups are expected.
Brown said all are welcome to peacefully protest and assemble, but Brown said the experience of the past several months makes clear some will be armed and others will seek to “harass, intimidate, instigate and enflame.”
“Whether you’re left wing, right wing or anything in between, violence is never the answer,” Brown said. “The First Amendment doesn’t give anyone the license to hurt or kill someone because they hold opposing views.”
The governor said she spoke with several officials, including Mayor Ted Wheeler, and all “agreed we must have a coordinated effort across state and local law enforcement officials to keep everyone safe this weekend.
“This is our entire community coming together to protect the community,” she said. “We will work together, to keep people safe.
“This is a critical moment. We have seen what happens when armed vigilantes take matters into their own hands. The Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer groups have come to Portland time and time again, looking for a fight,” Brown said.
“Let me be clear: We will not tolerate any kind of violence this weekend,” she said. “Left, right or center, violence is never a path toward meaningful change. Those stoking the flames of violence, those coming to Portland looking for a fight will be held accountable.”
Brown also spoke of the groups protesting this week’s Louisville grand jury decision regarding Breonna Taylor, saying she “deserves justice. This week’s grand jury decision was not justice.” And she urged all Oregonians to continue to work on racial justice, to honor those who have lost their lives.
Hampton said that the change in command “is in no way an indictment of our colleagues at the Portland Police Bureau for the job that they have done or would have done this weekend.”
“The Portland Police Bureau, their officers have endured some incredibly mentally and physically taxing situations for over 100 days, while they have done the best they can to keep Portland streets safe,” Hampton said.
Hampton said officers sent to Portland could use tear gas and less-lethal ammunition to disperse crowds if the protest and counter protests becomes violent or if people’s lives are in danger.
“Certainly with the use of any tool or option, we are always going to be proportional in our response,” Hampton said. “We want to do everything we can to intercede early, so we don’t have to get to a higher level of force if it’s required to keep the peace.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has banned local police from using tear gas.
Organizers have said that the Proud Boys rally will support President Donald Trump and the police and condemn anti-fascists that the group accuses of “domestic terrorism.”
The city denied a permit to protest organizers, citing estimated crowds of thousands amid the coronavirus pandemic. But police said they will not try to stop the Proud Boys from gathering at Delta Park in northern Portland.
Counter-protesters are planning a simultaneous gathering about four miles away at Peninsula Park on Saturday.
“If you want to come to Oregon, to Portland to peacefully protest, to assemble, to voice your outrage, to voice your concern, we welcome you for that," Hampton said.
"If your job, if your intent is to come to Oregon to commit crimes, to provoke, to make people feel unsafe in their homes, we do not want you to come here, and we will do our very best to interdict that criminal behavior as it arrives on our streets in Portland,” the OSP leader added.
Leavell said the goal is to keep opposing groups separate while providing safe space for people to peacefully protest.
Hampton said despite a city ban on using tear gas, it will be a possible tool, but only as a last resort in "a life safety event where people's lives are at risk."
Hampton said, “Hopefully, we’ll have a peaceful day, a peaceful event, with no arrests, exercising their constitutional rights.
News release:
Governor Kate Brown Announces Law Enforcement Plan to Keep the Peace, Protect Free Speech, and Prevent Weekend Violence in the City of Portland
“Let me be perfectly clear: We will not tolerate any kind of violence this weekend.”
(Portland, OR) — Governor Kate Brown today announced a law enforcement plan to keep the peace and protect free speech in the City of Portland this weekend. With the support of other local elected officials, the Governor is exercising her executive authority under ORS Chapter 401 to create a joint incident command structure, with Superintendent of State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff in charge of public safety in Portland this weekend.
“As we head into the weekend, we are aware that white supremacist groups from out of town, including the Proud Boys, are planning a rally on Saturday in Portland,” said Governor Brown. “Significant crowds of people are expected to join—some people will be armed, with others ready to harass or intimidate Oregonians. Many are from out of state. These types of demonstrations in the past have often ended in fistfights, and sometimes escalated to bloodshed.
“In America, we have the right to peacefully assemble, and everyone in Oregon has a right to express themselves freely—even those who the vast majority of Oregonians would deeply disagree with. However, the First Amendment does not give anyone license to hurt or kill someone because of opposing political views."
The Governor added: "The Superintendent and the Sheriff will work closely with the Portland Police Chief to keep people safe this weekend.
“When free expression is fueled by hate, and coupled with an intention to incite violence, then I need to do everything I can as Governor to ensure the public safety of Oregonians. We will not tolerate that violence and tragedy this weekend. Violence is never the answer. Violence never brings anyone over to your side. Instead, violence only deepens divisions.”
A full transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available here.
A recording of the Governor’s press conference is available here.
News release:
MCSO and OSP joint statement on Governor Kate Brown's decision to evoke executive authority
Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office - 09/25/20 10:27 AM
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police are committed to the safety and well-being of the communities we serve. We strongly support the right to demonstrate and for people to use their individual and collective voices to express grief, outrage and a call for action.
Protests are among the most difficult events to manage in policing today. Police have a responsibility to safeguard the right of people to assemble and engage in free speech, while balancing other rights guaranteed in our Constitution, including maintaining public order by preventing criminal behavior, such as assaults, rioting, arson and other illegal activity.
We appreciate Governor Kate Brown’s decision this morning to use her executive authority to direct the Oregon State Police (OSP) and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) to lead crowd management response efforts in Multnomah County this weekend. Under this directive, all law enforcement across Multnomah County will operate under a unified command structure. This type of structure allows agencies to respond to crowd management situations and emergencies with immediacy and consistency, ensuring resources from a number of agencies across the county are readily available and allows agencies to communicate and coordinate more effectively.
For all protests this weekend in Multnomah County, regardless of political affiliation, our message is clear, do not engage in criminal conduct. For people who attend the events, leave your weapons behind. Racism is not welcome in Oregon. Hate and division are not welcome in Oregon. Violence is not welcome in Oregon.
Police will maintain a highly visible presence to ensure public safety. Our goal is to keep the peace, and we encourage those who gather, to do so peacefully.
United States Attorney Statement Regarding Ongoing Violence In Portland
U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Oregon - 09/25/20 5:18 PM
PORTLAND, Ore.— Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, provides the below statement on ongoing violence in Portland:
“This nation’s most successful movement for racial equality and justice was led by a man dedicated to non-violent principles. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in nonviolence, winning his opponents’ friendship and understanding without humiliation, and he held a deep faith in the future. His aspirations for racial justice unquestionably remain unfinished, but his philosophy on how to achieve it remains just as relevant today.
George Floyd’s death has forced law enforcement and the justice system to closely examine our work and has led our society to ask critical questions. For more than 100 consecutive nights, Portland has been the center of large demonstrations and protests. Peaceful protests, public dialogue, and ongoing legislative and policy reviews at every level are essential to identifying solutions and bringing about meaningful and positive changes. Civility and respect are key elements to this process.
By contrast, there has been nothing civil, respectful, or positive about the nightly violent and destructive protests in Portland, Oregon. On many nights, after peaceful demonstrations end, violent agitators have physically attacked police officers and firefighters, damaged buildings, and repeatedly attempted to set public buildings on fire. These agitators include not just local residents but people who have travelled from out of state.
On several occasions in August, demonstrations were held during the day where groups with opposing ideologies clashed and engaged in physical violence against one another. Following one of these political rallies, a man was shot and killed. Most recently, acts of violence towards law enforcement and first responders include a Portland firefighter being shot in the chest with a steel ball bearing launched from an arm-mounted slingshot, a man dousing several police officers with high-powered bear deterrent spray, a man punching a female police officer in the face, and a woman striking a police officer in the head from behind with a wooden shield.
This violent and senseless criminal conduct does nothing to promote meaningful or positive change. It forces the focus away from racial justice, instills fear in our community, and deters visitors. It is destroying the fabric of a city and a state that we love.
As a direct consequence of this criminal behavior and the media attention it generates, this community must now deal with the threat of even more outsiders traveling to Portland to participate in what they’ve been watching on social media and television for weeks. This too is not a new phenomenon for Portlanders. In August 2019, after a summer of violent clashes between opposing protest groups, several groups put out national calls for supporters to travel to Portland to join in a citywide melee.
Fortunately, despite hundreds of people answering this call and traveling to Portland, the outstanding work of the Portland Police Bureau and other local law enforcement agencies kept opposing groups mostly separated and violence to a minimum. The city now faces a similar scenario for Saturday, September 26th where numerous groups with opposing ideologies are gathering in the Portland area
This comes at a time when our community and state continue to grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a major uptick in gun violence, and, now, massive wildfires burning across the state. Already limited public safety resources are fatigued and stretched thin. Our community deserves an end to the violence. Together, we need to call out violent agitators on the right and the left and stand up for civility.
Local residents and anyone traveling to Portland with the intent to commit violence are on notice. There will be consequences for acts of violence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting people who impede or assault law enforcement officers, damage federal property, and set fire to buildings. Make no mistake: those who commit violence in the name of protest, will be investigated, arrested, prosecuted, and face prison time. Already more than 100 people have been arrested and more than 80 people are facing federal charges related to protest violence.
Our office will work closely with our law enforcement partners, including the FBI, to monitor criminal activity, and will bring federal charges where appropriate. We are committed to supporting our community and will help our law enforcement partners perform their essential public safety duties.”
Wyden, Merkley: “White nationalist hate groups, with their racist rants and glorification of violence, have no place in our hometown or anywhere else in America.”
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today issued the following joint statement about the planned gathering in Portland by the “Proud Boys” and other extremist right-wing groups:
“White nationalist hate groups, with their racist rants and glorification of violence, have no place in our hometown or anywhere else in America.
We will always defend the First Amendment right of peaceful demonstrations in Portland and everywhere, no matter how odious we find their views, but reject violence with equal passion in any form and any quarter.
These extremist right-wing groups planning to descend on Portland boast a message of white supremacy and have a history of inciting violence. We are proud to stand with our fellow Portlanders working as a community to respond peacefully in the face of this deliberate provocation by racists.”
Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek Statement in Advance of Planned Hate Rally
“I commend and thank Governor Brown, Mayor Wheeler and Chair Kafoury for coming together with a cohesive plan to keep Oregonians safe this weekend. My constituents in North Portland have been very concerned about Saturday's planned event at Delta Park.
“Our communities are hurting. The lack of justice for Breonna Taylor is yet another wound, especially for our neighbors who have personally experienced systemic racism in their lives. I will continue working to reform unjust systems of power.
“This year has tested our collective will in unimaginable ways. But injuring others in anger will not bring about change. Nonviolent resistance is essential to bringing our country to a more perfect union. I encourage my fellow Portlanders to stay away from the hate rally on Saturday. Raise your voices elsewhere, speak of love and justice, and don't give them your energy.
“Let's make change together, but violence isn't the answer and has no place in our beloved state.”
