Portland BLM protests surpass 100 days

Posted October 2020

By Isabelle Donahue

Staff Editor

Portland has continuously been a hub for Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, so much so that the U.S. Department of Justice and President Trump have labeled Portland, along with New York City and Seattle, as anarchist jurisdictions.

As protests have continued in Portland, police activity and presence has grown. When the protests first began, police presence was mainly to protect property and protesters from each other. Now, after five months of protests, thousands of protesters are blaming police actions for their injuries. Most of the police caused injuries are from rubber bullets, tear gas, or batons. There have been actions taken to protect protestors. Governor Kate Brown signed a bill on June 30 to make tear gas banned except in absolute riot situations. Hours after this bill became law, police fired tear gas at protesters and arrested three journalists. While the police classified the protest as a riot, many disagreed with their judgment. The police's use of rubber bullets has faced scrutiny from many. A study published in 2017 in BMJ Open found that 3% of people hit by rubber bullets died of the injury. Out of 1,984 people studied, 15% were permanently injured with rubber bullets. One reason that so many more protesters are being harmed by rubber bullets is that police seem to be aiming for protester’s heads and necks. If shot there, the person has a much higher chance of dying or being permanently injured.

“On Day One of training, they tell you, ‘Don’t shoot anywhere near the head or neck,’” said Charlie Mesloh, a certified instructor on the use of police projectiles and a professor at Northern Michigan University. “That’s considered deadly force.”

To contain the violence, federal agents were sent to Portland, which only caused tensions to rise. Oregon officials have said that the federal agents were illegally taking the role of riot police. Federal agents armed and in full camouflage riot gear have taken to the streets, even though city officials have expressed that they don’t want federal agents present at all.

“I think it’s absolutely improper,” Oregon’s attorney general Ellen Rosenblum said in a New York Times interview on July 24. “It’s absolutely beyond their authority.”

During one of the first protests, the agents fired large amounts of tear gas, fire flash grenades, and welt-inducing, caustic chemical-filled marble-sized balls. The aggressive actions of federal agents continue to push the legal limits of federal law enforcement. Federal agents have made hundreds of federal arrests, many of those arrested are facing charges of assaulting a federal officer or failing to comply with law enforcement commands.

Multiple protesters have claimed that they were grabbed off the street and shoved into a car by federal agents. One of these protesters was Mark Pettibone, 29. Pettibone said that he had been protesting when he was suddenly grabbed by four camouflaged people and shoved into an unmarked van. As he was grabbed, one of the people tried to calm him down while another pulled his beanie over his eyes so he couldn’t see. They didn’t have any identification, so Pettibone had no idea who they were. At first, he thought that they were part of one of the far-right militia groups that protestors had clashed with in the past, who also wore camouflage and tactical gear. At no point in the two-hour period that Pettibone was held did any of the officers tell him why he was being detained.

“It felt like I was being hunted for no reason,” Pettibone said. “It feels like fascism.”

The responses to Oregonians being taken off the streets were very different.

“Portland was very rough, and they called us in, and we did a good job, to put it mildly,” President Donald Trump said on July 15 at the White House, the day that Pettibone was taken into custody. “Many people in jail right now.”

On the other hand, Oregon state attorney general Ellen Rosenblum sued the Department of Homeland Security on July 17.

“We are today asking the federal court to stop the federal police from secretly stopping and forcibly grabbing Oregonians off our streets,” Rosenblum said at the time.

Navy veteran Christopher J. David was beaten by federal agents when he approached them with a question. David hadn’t been present in any other protests due to the risk of COVID-19, but he thought that the federal agents’ violet actions towards protesters without being supported by the mayor, governor, or local law enforcement was a violation of the agents’ oaths to support, uphold, and defend the Constitution. So, he decided to go downtown on July 18 and ask the federal agents if they thought the same as he did. Instead of getting an answer to his peaceful inquiry, David was beaten by one federal agent with a baton while another agent sprayed him with pepper spray. After walking away from the agents, David was taken to a hospital. He had a broken right hand that would require surgically installed pins, screws, and plates.

“I am proud to be among the loud chorus of elected officials calling for the federal troops in Portland’s streets to go home,” Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said in a statement shared with The Washington Post. “Their presence here has escalated tensions and put countless Portlanders exercising their First Amendment rights in greater danger.”

Protests, while mainly peaceful, can sometimes become aggressive. During some earlier protests full drink cans, rocks, plastic water bottles, hydro-flasks, and other debris have been thrown at police and other protesters. There was also major rioting during the first week of protests. More recently, the protests have been peaceful. Many protesters were handing out free water and snacks, there are groups helping others make signs, and spreading awareness through social media. Videos of protests show people giving speeches, groups marching together chanting, and artwork commemorating those who lost their lives to police brutality and racial discrimination. Many of these protestors' videos don’t show the harsher sides of the, mainly earlier, protests such as property damage and illegal graffiti. Many recent statements from protestors state that largely, law enforcement officers are causing conflicts.

“Once you’re out on the street and you’ve been tear-gassed and you see that there’s no reason — the police will claim that there’s a riot just so they can use tear gas — it makes you want to go out there, even more, to see if there can be any kind of justice,” Pettibone said.

Protesters, in response to the federal agents’ presence, made three “walls.” A wall of veterans lined up against a fence, a wall of mothers, and a wall of fathers. The men in the wall held leaf blowers to counteract the tear gas being used. There have also been many viral videos of protestors kicking, picking up, or catching tear gas canisters and throwing or kicking the canisters back at the police.

While Black Lives Matter protests are the majority of protests happening in Portland, there are also right-wing protests happening. One of these was the Proud Boys protest, a right-wing organization that claimed it would bring legions of dedicated patriots to the city of Portland. But when the moment of truth came on Sept. 26, the gang failed to deliver. The police responded aggressively, after a disperse order was given. Many riot police chased down protesters and journalists and attacked them with fists and batons. Many voiced their displeasure with the actions of the police, but especially the timing. The Proud Boys protest was a mainly peaceful one, though many participants did bring weapons. During some more hostile right-wing protests that ended aggressively, the police didn’t take necessary actions to disperse those protests.

“The events over the weekend show that law enforcement knew how to keep the far-right groups from unleashing violence in Portland all along, they simply chose not to in previous instances,” Michael German, a former FBI agent, now at the Brennan Center, said in an email to The Intercept.

Portland protests have caused the city of Portland over $25 million in damages and downtown revenue is extremely low. There isn’t a definite number of people injured while at protests, but it’s averaged that at least 50 protestors will be injured during a protest. There has only been one Portland death due to a protest, during a clash between a right-wing and BLM protesters, a right-wing advocate was shot in the chest and died.

“We need to reset," Mayor Ted Wheeler said. "The president needs to reset. I need to reset. This community needs to reset. And America needs to reset. It’s going to take his [Trump’s] leadership in the White House. And it’s going to take my leadership here in City Hall.”