Reading News for You: Day of Portland demonstrations marked by arrests, clashes
VietPress USA (June 4th, 2017): Today on Sunday in Portland, Oregon, a very hot day for both Pro-Trump and anti-Trump demonstrators marked by multiple arrests and clashes between police and protestors. Please read this news from AP on Yahoo News at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/portland-free-speech-rally-counter-protests-draw-thousands-221630705--politics.html
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| Thousands of protesters gather in Portland, Ore., Sunday, June 4, 2017, for competing rallies following last month’s fatal stabbing of two men on a light-rail train by a man police say was shouting anti-Muslim slurs. A pro-Donald Trump free speech rally had been previously planned by a conservative group. Counter protests were organized by religious and labor groups. (AP Photo/Kristena Hansen) |
Day of Portland demonstrations marked by arrests, clashes
Associated Press
Kristena Hansen, Associated Press
Associated PressJune 4, 2017
Day of Portland demonstrations marked by arrests, clashes
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Thousands of demonstrators and
counter protesters converged in downtown Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, a day
marked by multiple arrests and clashes between police and protesters.
A pro-President Donald Trump free speech rally drew several
hundred to a plaza near City Hall more than a week after two Portland men were
fatally stabbed trying to stop a man from shouting anti-Muslim insults at two
teenage girls on a light-rail train.
That rally was met across the street by hundreds of
counter-protesters organized by immigrant rights, religious and labor groups.
They said they wanted to make a stand against hate and racism.
Portland police said Sunday evening that 14 people were
arrested, and several dozen knives, bricks, sticks and other weapons were
seized.
By late afternoon, police closed nearby Chapman Square where
a separate group of protesters — many wearing masks and black clothing and
identified as anti-fascists — also demonstrated. Police used flash-bang
grenades and pepper balls to disperse that crowd after saying protesters were
hurling bricks and other objects at officers.
The people gathered at the free speech rally organized by
the conservative group Patriot Prayer and counter-protesters at City Hall were
not involved in those clashes, police said.
After several dozen demonstrators began marching north of
the initial rally locations, police officers moved in and blocked them. They
detained a large crowd in the street, including several journalists.
People identified as participating in criminal activity
would be arrested, police said. Everyone else was eventually released after
officers took photographs of their identification.
Sunday's event was organized by the group Patriot Prayer and
billed as Trump Free Speech Rally in "one of the most liberal areas of the
West Coast."
Rally organizer Joey Gibson held a moment of silence for the
two men who were stabbed to death and pleaded with the crowd to refrain from
violence. He later told them that goal is to wake up the liberty movement.
"It's OK to be a conservative in Portland," he said.
Last week Mayor Ted Wheeler unsuccessfully tried to have the
permit for the free speech rally revoked, saying it could further enflame
tensions following the May 26 stabbings.
The suspect in the light-rail stabbings, Jeremy Joseph
Christian, 35, attended a similar rally in late April wearing an American flag
around his neck and carrying a baseball bat. Police confiscated the bat, and he
was then caught on camera clashing with counter-protesters.
In a video posted on Facebook, Gibson condemned Christian
and acknowledged that some rallies have attracted "legitimate Nazis."
He described Christian as "all crazy" and "not a good guy."
Matthew Eggiman, 19, who lives in Corvallis, said he showed
up Sunday to oppose bigotry and racism. He worried that that hateful rhetoric
would embolden others. But he also condemned protesters who show up hoping to
provoke violence.
The Rev. Diane Dulin of the United Church of Christ said in
a statement ahead of the day's events that any act of violence in the community
should be met by non-violence.
"We build our hope and our stamina for justice by
showing up," said Dulin, part of a coalition of groups that organized
rally to oppose hate.
Authorities say that on May 26 Christian killed two men and
injured another on the light-rail train when they tried to help after he
verbally abused two young women, one wearing a hijab. Christian is charged with
aggravated murder and other counts.
The concerns over the Portland rally come amid a wider
debate in the U.S. about the First Amendment, often in liberal cities like
Portland and Berkeley, California, and on college campuses, where violent
protests between far-right and far-left protesters have derailed appearances by
contentious figures.
___
Associated Press Writers Phuong Le in Seattle and Manuel
Valdes in Portland contributed to this report.
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