Clashes break out between far-right and far-left demonstrators in Portland

Demonstrators clash in Portland on Sunday.

(Image credit: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/AFP via Getty Images)

Members of far-right and far-left groups carrying bats, paintball guns, and shields clashed Sunday in Portland, Oregon, with brawls breaking out in an old Kmart parking lot and on city streets.

At one point, there was an exchange of gunfire, but no one was injured, The Oregonian reports. The Portland Police Department said the incident is under investigation, and a man has been arrested and charged with unlawful use and possession of a firearm.

Earlier in the day, about 300 people met up at Tom McCall Waterfront Park to protest against a planned gathering by right-wing groups. The right-wing event was moved to the parking lot of a closed Kmart, with about 100 people, many of them affiliated with the Proud Boys, attending. Smaller groups of far-left protesters arrived at the parking lot later in the afternoon, and soon insults were flying and skirmishes breaking out. The fighting moved to a nearby roadway, with someone spraying bear mace in the crowd, The Oregonian reports.

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Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell told reporters on Friday that officers would not break up any fights they saw, instead focusing their attention on people violating the law.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.