A person was shot and killed in downtown Portland as dueling demonstrations — one a pro-Trump car caravan and another a counter protest mounted by various left-wing groups — unfolded late Saturday.

Portland police say the shooting was near Southwest Third Avenue and Alder Street. The agency did not say whether the incident was related to the demonstrations.

Previous Story: Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler Rebukes Trump, Calls Portland’s Nightly Riots A ‘Proud Progressive Tradition’

The person lay in the street as police medics tended to his wounds. Next to the body was camouflage gear with infidel and thin blue line patches, which commonly indicate support for law enforcement. Police taped off the area.

Several reporters and bystanders posted footage of the person being treated around 9 p.m.

Various scuffles between pro-Trump demonstrators and counter protesters had broken out in the hours since the vehicle rally, which began in Clackamas, reached Portland.

A suspect has now been identified.

The following reports were made before a suspect was identified.


GOPUSA Editor’s Note: Please keep in mind that this is a mainstream media story with more than the typical lean to the left. We publish the story for the purpose of informing our readers.

It’s the third consecutive weekend competing groups have clashed downtown, events that have grown increasingly violent as Portland protests against systemic racism and police brutality stretch into their fourth month.

GOPUSA Editor: A story about the peaceful pro-Trump gathering in the Clackamas mall is below this one. (Keep scrolling)

On Aug. 15, a person fired shots inside a parking garage shortly after dueling demonstrations came to a head in the afternoon.

Last weekend, right-wing demonstrators repeatedly rushed counter protesters with shields, some shooting paint balls and blasting pepper spray at the opposing crowd. Some left-wing counter protesters also shot paint balls into the group of conservative demonstrators.

At one point, a man identified as right-wing activist Alan Swinney, pointed a gun at the crowd but did not fire. Portland police came under fire for their handling of the incident.

Chief Chuck Lovell said officers chose not to intervene lest they create a flashpoint during a moment of heightened tensions.

Asked what sort of planning Portland police did in preparation for Saturday’s dueling rallies, which were easily identified to contain elements typical of events that end in violence, a bureau spokesman said it does not “discuss our tactical plans publicly.”

Mark Graves, Dave Killen and Samantha Swindler of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.

Trump event draws hundreds to Clackamas mall, car caravan heading to Portland

More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday at the area’s largest rally for President Donald Trump amid the 2020 election season. Demonstrators converged outside of Clackamas Town Center ahead of a planned caravan to Portland.

The mall parking lot rally also attracted sheriff’s deputies and a small group of counter-demonstrators, confirmed Sgt. Marcus Mendoza, a spokesperson for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

At least 600 vehicles, many waving Trump flags, gathered in the mall parking lot by 4:30 p.m., Mendoza said. People turned their attention at 5 p.m. to a series of speeches that started with the national anthem. People held their Make America Great Again hats to anthem played. Almost no one wore masks.

“This rally is not a protest,” Alex Kyzik, an organizer, told the crowd. “This rally is a celebration of a great president.”

The caravan of hundreds of cars launched around 5:15 p.m., with a few tractor-trailer cabs leading the way. Drivers honked as they left the parking lot and joined the line hundreds of vehicles long.

Many drivers were still waiting to exit the mall parking lot as of 5:45 p.m.

The route is expected to navigate from 82nd Avenue to Highway 224 to Highway 99 into Portland. Then, organizers plan to loop around downtown on Interstates 5 and 405.

Clackamas County deputies were on the ground monitoring the event, the largest demonstration in recent months to occur on private property. Mall officials have not asked deputies to remove anybody from the parking lot, Mendoza said.

“Our goal here is to maintain the peace and make sure everyone has an opportunity to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Mendoza said.

Event organizers asked people on social media not to openly display firearms, but encouraged concealed carry.

Tensions briefly flared between some pro-Trump demonstrators and a small group of counter-protesters after a dispute over a parking space ended in one person using pepper spray, Mendoza said.

A spokesperson for Brookfield Properties, a New York firm that owns the mall, has not yet responded to a question about the mall’s stance on the event.

The demonstration came days after various speakers decried Portland’s nightly protests during the Republican National Convention, an event that was capped off with a 74-minute speech where President Donald Trump accepted the party’s presidential nomination and cast the city as lawless. Trump also traded sharp criticism with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Friday on Twitter

This is the third consecutive weekend that Pro-Trump demonstrators converged in and around Portland, leading to some clashes with counter protesters.

Most recently, a so-called “anti-Marxist” rally drew hundreds downtown, where protesters and counter demonstrators clashed, often violently, in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center.

The demonstration in Clackamas County came hours ahead of Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, the 94th consecutive day of such demonstrations since the death of George Floyd in late May.

Mark Graves and Dave Killen of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

(c)2020 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)

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