Driver confronts Bend anti-police protester; both men charged

A protester with an American flag and obscene anti-police sign angered a motorist who stopped in the road and got out to confront him at a busy northeast Bend intersection Saturday afternoon, sparking a fight that led to charges against both men, police said.

The incident took place just after 4 p.m. at Northeast Third Street and Greenwood Avenue, where a three-hour rally in tribute to refuge occupier LaVoy Finicum had ended about an hour earlier.

Lt. Nick Parker said police were called to the report of a dispute between two men involving a knife. Arriving officers talked to the two men, identified as Jason Allen Schneider, 41, and Jacob Daniel Vincent, 24, both of Bend.

An investigation – aided by several witnesses, some of whom took video of the dispute – determined Vincent was standing on the southwest corner of the intersection, holding the flag – possibly upside down, a sign of distress – and a sign that read “F— THE POLICE,” Parker said

Schneider stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road, blocking traffic, then got out to confront Vincent, Parker said. Vincent then poked Schneider with his protest sign and a fight ensued that moved into Third Street, the lieutenant said.

The two men separated and Schneider fled across Third Street, away from Vincent, who pursued him with a knife, Parker said. The police spokesman said Schneider was able to maintain his distance, using cars on the road, until police arrived.

Schneider was cited on a charge of second-degree disorderly conduct. Vincent was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and lodged on menacing and disorderly conduct charges, later released on his own recognizance, according to a corrections deputy.