A right-wing rally in downtown Portland Saturday that drew a large group of counter-protesters and self-described anti-fascists led to a barrage of flashbangs being deployed in the crowd after rocks and bottles were thrown at police.
The peaceful, right-wing Patriot Prayer rally quickly turned chaotic as the group began to march along the waterfront at Tom McCall park – the site of the rally. Counter-protesters followed, but the two sides were separated by police.
Portland Police said the flashbangs were used to break up a group that threw rocks and bottles at officers dressed in riot gear who were patrolling to keep the protesters separated.
Several people were seen being detained by officers in the aftermath of the flashbangs. A reporter for The Oregonian was injured by one of the projectiles. A photo posted on Twitter shows Eder Campuzano holding his bloodied head.
Campuzano wrote on Twitter that he was "okay" but was getting treated. No other injuries were immediately reported.
Officers on loudspeakers told those in the crowd to disperse or be arrested, dubbing the gathering a "civil disturbance."
"All people must disperse," police repeatedly said over loudspeakers. "You are ordered to disperse."
The threats from police quickly simmered down the crowd as groups moved in all directions, mostly leaving the area.
The large contingent of boisterous, dueling protesters is the third such face-off in two months.
The event also unfolded ahead of the one-year anniversary of the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August that deteriorated into clashes and left one person dead.
People on both sides of the protests swarmed the area wearing protective pads or vests, many also donning masks or covering themselves with bandanas.
The counter-protesters were made up of a coalition of labor unions, immigrant rights advocates, democratic socialists and other groups. They included people dressed as clowns and a brass band blaring music.
As some counter-protesters chanted “Nazis go home,” police in riot gear kept the two groups separated by barricades and by a street in front of the waterfront park.
At one point, police said on bullhorns that they had observed some people among the counter-protesters carrying weapons and ordered a section of the event area cleared.
Police warned via Twitter that no one carrying a rifle, shotgun or other long-gun would be allowed into Tom McCall park – the site of the rally.
Police also said that any item such as a flag pole or a homemade shield that could be used as a weapon will be confiscated.
On the eve of the event, Mayor Ted Wheeler said he had "serious concerns" about possible violence.
Photos: Patriot Prayer rally, counter-protest in Portland
The march, planned for months, was organized by Joey Gibson, leader of the Patriot Prayer group, and a long-shot Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in the state of Washington.
He led a march around the waterfront then stopped to pray and speak to the crowd. Several protesters, who had their faces covered, took the microphone.
"This is what unity is all about," one protester told the crowd, adding that even though there is fear of danger, "this is what it takes to stand for what we believe in."
The event comes five weeks after clashes between left and right on June 30 in which both sides, including masked anti-fascist groups, battled in downtown Portland, pummeling and striking each other. Police declared the event a riot and revoked rally permits.
A similar Patriot Prayer event on June 4 devolved into fistfights and assaults by both sides as police struggled to keep the groups apart.
As supporters jostled among the crowds at the park, Gibson took a mic to rally the already boisterous crowd, saying, "We are going to make change. We just keep going."
He said that the group was there to express their views as guaranteed by the Constitution, not to fight but that many had to wear heavy gear to protect themselves against anti-fascists.
At one point, Gibson referred to the counter-protesters as "punks" who, he said, were an obstacle to bringing people of the right and left together.
"A lot of people at the top are laughing their asses off," Gibson told the crowd. "They are taking full advantage of dividing us up while the government gets bigger and bigger."
Gibson said in a live video on Facebook earlier this week that he won’t stop bringing his followers to Portland until they can express their right-wing views without interference.
“I refuse to do what Portland wants me to do because what Portland wants me to do is to shut up and never show up again," he said.
Organizers of a counter-protest said that while Patriot Prayer denies being a white supremacist group, it affiliates itself with known white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazi gangs.
In addition, self-described anti-fascists – or “antifa” – organized anonymously online to confront Patriot Prayer and an affiliated group, the Proud Boys, in the streets.
The Facebook page for Resist Patriot Prayer: Violent Alt-Right Bigots Off Our Streets," the group said it is willing to use physical force if necessary against "Joey and his Alt Right goons."
"History has shown that militant resistance is a necessary and important tool in the fight against fascism," the event page said. "We make no apologies for the use of force in keeping our communities safe from the scourge of right-wing violence. Make no mistake, these people are coming here with the intent to harm and threaten people."
Effie Baum, a spokesperson with Popular Mobilization, said her group was formed solely to mobilize counter-protesters for Saturday, OregonLive reports.
"One thing we all have in common is our opposition to white supremacy, transphobia and homophobia," said Baum said, according to OregonLive.
“Patriot Prayer is continuing to commit violence in our city, and their events are becoming more and more violent,” she said. “Leaving them a small group to attack in the streets is only going to allow them to perpetuate their violence.”