More than 1K pro-Trump counter-protesters gather near Portland

More than 1,000 pro-President Trump counter-protesters gathered near Portland, Ore., on Monday to express support for the president. 

Hundreds of cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles and at least one RV participated in the “Oregon For Trump 2020 Labor Day Cruise Rally” by raising Trump flags and playing “God Bless The U.S.A.” while moving throughout the Portland suburbs. 

Some of the demonstrators, which included members of white nationalist extremist groups, were armed with rifles, pistols, knives and clubs, The Washington Post reported. 

Confrontations between right-wing and left-wing protestors have been taking place in and around Portland. 

Aaron Danielson, a member of Patriot Prayer, was killed after a confrontation in Portland last month. A man suspected in Danielson’s shooting who identified with the loose coalition known as antifa was killed by police days later. Patriot Prayer is a far-right group in the Pacific Northwest that has seen Facebook remove its pages as an effort to crack down on violent social militias.

Such violence has not been limited to Portland. In Kenosha, Wis., last month, a 17-year-old who posted supportive messages for police on social media was arrested and charged with intentional homicide after the shooting of two protesters. 

In Oregon, protest organizers called for the demonstrators to not enter Multnomah County, where the city of Portland is located, for their own safety. They cited Danielson’s death. Some of the demonstrators wore bulletproof vests or shirts naming Danielson. 

The demonstrators included families with young children, QAnon supporters and Proud Boys members, a group that has ties to white nationalism, the Post reported. Several taped over their license plates out of a concern of being identified. 

A portion of the right-wing protesters traveled to Salem, Ore., where about 100 of them confronted a smaller group of liberal protesters on Monday evening by charging at them and knocking at least one of the liberal demonstrators to the ground, according to the Post.

The demonstrations took place even though the National Weather Service cautioned about a wind storm in the area. 

Protests against racism originally broke out in Portland after the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis police custody in May. They gained steam after the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake, another Black man, last month.

Sunday marked the 100th day of protests. Some demonstrators chucked firebombs, resulting in more than a dozen being arrested. 

Trump has repeatedly vocalized his disapproval for the Portland demonstrations against police brutality, claiming it has descended into chaos because of Democratic local leaders’ lack of control. 

The president signed an executive order last week instructing federal agencies to send in plans for decreasing funding for cities that Trump says are experiencing “lawless” demonstrations.