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IN PROGRESS: Antifa, Anarchists, Alt-Right, Liberals, Police, More All Square Off At Portland Free Speech Rally

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Portland PD and Homeland Security are confiscating weapons at the Portland Free Speech Rally.

Portland PD and Homeland Security are confiscating weapons at the Portland Free Speech Rally.

Large Police Presence At Large Portland Free Speech Rally With Counter-Protests

Portland, OR – Thousands of protesters belonging to many different factions have all gathered at a “free speech rally” in Portland at Terry Schrunk Plaza.

Antifa, Anarchist groups, liberals, alt-right, libertarians, white supremacists, Homeland Security, Portland PD, and more are all present at the rally.

The permitted “free speech” rally was scheduled to start at 2 PM, but confrontations between the groups started before noon. While the rally was formed to support “free speech,” the actual reason for the rally was likely to antagonize the violent Antifa groups.

More attention came to the rally after Jeremy Christian murdered two people on a Portland light rail train on May 26. Christian had previously been seen screaming hate speech at another free speech rally on April 29.

While Christian was forced out by all attendees on all sides of the April 26 rally, his presence was enough for the mainstream media to label him as part of the “free speech” group.

After Christian committed the murders, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler asked the federal government to revoke the permit that was issued for the event. The ACLU came to the defense of the rally, saying that the federal government could not revoke a permit because people didn’t agree with the speech.

Due to all of the attention given to the event, it has attracted various factions on the right and the left to attend.

There are at least 6 different groups rallying at the event. Various left-wing and progressive group refuse to congregate with or be associated with the antifa groups engaging in black bloc tactics. The various left-wing groups have surrounded Terry Schrunk Plaza.

The right-wing groups appear to all be within the plaza area, with less distinction between the various right-wing groups and the white supremacists within the plaza area calling out hate speech.

The police have been checking bags and confiscating all weapons from anybody who attempts to enter the plaza area while the antifa group chants “All cops are bastards.”

At one point, Portland PD officers in riot gear pushed back a group of Antifa and confiscated items from them.

At least one Antifa person was arrested when he tried to charge into the plaza without being through the police checkpoint.

There is a very large police presence in the area with what appears to be hundreds of officers in riot gear. Due to the well-prepared police force who are constantly confiscating weapons, it’s unlikely that a group will be able to cause serious harm to people on the other side.

There have been several incidents of people throwing items at other groups:

The situation still has the potential for a group to leave the area and riot elsewhere within the city.

Mike Bivins interviewed Jake Von Ott on video. Antifa has been spreading Van Ott’s picture around the city with his personal information calling him the next Jeremy Christian. He says he’s totally not a white supremacist, but despite his claims, he appears to be supporting white nationalist ideology.

UPDATE: Antifa started attacking the police and Portland PD is moving in. Latest updates HERE.

This is a developing story and we will keep you updated. For all of our updates, follow us on Facebook and go to your news feed preferences under your settings, then select that you want to see more of Blue Lives Matter posts in your news feed. Otherwise, Facebook may not show you updates.

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