Proud Boys are marching again – and are causing unrest in Portland

It was quiet in Portland for a long time. Now the right-wing extremist Proud Boys are returning – and fighting with groups on the left.

Portland – Last year, the city of Portland was one of the centers of right-wing marches in the United States. The city in the state of Oregon on the northwest coast is actually a liberal stronghold. Mostly in response to protests against racist police violence, right-wing groups had repeatedly traveled, including the so-called Proud Boys, who are considered loyal supporters of the then US President Donald Trump. There had been regular violence during the protests in Portland. One person died.

With the scenes on January 6 in Washington DC, across the country, the situation had calmed down, at least for seven months. Because now right-wing groups have gathered again in Portland. On display were the uniforms of the Proud Boys, weapons and a man who has to answer in court because of the riots in the Capitol.

USA: Proud Boys return – clashes in Portland

The reason for the Proud Boys’ presence in Portland on Saturday and Sunday (August 7 and 8, 2021) was the appearance of an anti-LGBTQ priest and a corona skeptic at a religious rally. This is reported by the local newspaper Portland Mercury – probably an event with great attraction. Right-wing groups played armed “Security”. Soon they were counter-demonstrators: inside the Antifa. Police were hardly to be seen.

A right-wing group had filmed themselves homophobically abusing a single man before knocking his mug of coffee and cell phone out of his hand, hitting him, knocking him to the ground and threatening him with a baseball bat.

Jeff G., already known from the Capitol, who is waiting for his trial, admitted in a Facebook video that he was also there in Portland. “People say you can’t fight the Antifa,” he is quoted as saying. “You can’t fight evil with it,” he says as he raises his fists. “Imagine: You can do that. As long as he leads, you can use this. ”He pointed to the sky and raised his fists again. One photo shows him on a pickup truck, along with seven other men, equipped with baseball bats, a sign and something reminiscent of pepper spray. The violence over the weekend in Portland was caused by the left, claims Jeff G.

Again unrest in Portland: Right and left groups are fighting

A video by journalist Sergio Olmos shows the use of pepper spray by a group on the left, the group on the right responded with shots from a paintball gun. The Portland Police were there, but did not intervene. A passerby who was on her way to the religious rally out of curiosity was stopped by “heavily armed guards” who were increasingly hostile and asked her to leave the area. Because the 50-year-old had offered verbal resistance, she was pushed and a baton was pressed into her chest. Another man took her bike and threw it on the ground at the same time.

Elsewhere in Portland, a rifle was pointed at a journalist and other people, as shown by photos and videos. The police later announced that it was only an airsoft gun. However, the rifle does not have the orange tip that normally characterizes such non-lethal weapons.

The well-known Proud Boy Tusitala “Tiny” Toese was also there. Videos show him fighting with left-wing groups. He lives in Washington state, but travels to Portland regularly, according to The Daily Beast. He was given a suspended sentence for beating a man there a few years ago. By leaving his state and attending a pro-Trump meeting in Portland, Toese broke probation and was imprisoned.

USA: riots in Portland preceded the storming of the Capitol

Juan Chavez, director of an Oregon civil rights organization, recalls other right-wing groups gathering in the area. Some would still use the Proud Boys as “propaganda”. Once the group was able to walk undisturbed over a bridge in Portland that was actually cordoned off by the police. Apart from Portland, parts of Oregon are considered strongholds of right-wing militias.

“There is this picture that is like a Renaissance painting,” says Chavez. “With several personalities who were later in the Capitol and are now in prison or are being prosecuted.” The Proud Boys were encouraged by the lack of consequences after the unrest in Portland. “Of course they can just march into the Capitol and do what they did. You have learned that here. ”A local civil rights activist, Zakir Khan, describes the right-wing gatherings in Portland as the forerunners of the Capitol storming – and fears new escalations, especially because the right-wing or far-right groups like the Proud Boys are not considered serious by the authorities Threat to be assessed.

Jeff G. also compares the events: “It’s the same thing that I already did in the Capitol,” says the Facebook video. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I protested proudly and peacefully. What everyone knows is a lie. And you know what? It has been proven time and time again. So you know what? I told you I won’t crouch. I won’t stop, I won’t bow down. No. I’ll be back. ”No one was arrested in Portland over the weekend. (lrg)