14 arrested in Portland during dueling Trump protests


Police in Portland, Oregon, arrested 14 people Sunday during dueling demonstrations attended by supporters of President Trump, anti-fascist protesters, and residents concerned about hate speech.
Hundreds of people attended the "Trump Free Speech" rally at Terry D. Schrunk Plaza, CNN reports, and even more counter-protesters gathered across the street. Police say at first, the two sides yelled expletives at each other, then counter-protesters started to throw glass bottles and bricks at the officers, who responded by using pepper spray.
Tensions in the city have been high since three men were stabbed last week, two fatally, on a light-rail train by a man who was allegedly yelling anti-Muslim statements at two young women. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler had unsuccessfully requested that the permit be revoked for the free-speech rally, saying, "I'm a strong supporter of the First Amendment no matter what the views are that are being expressed, but given the timing of this rally, I believed we had a case to make about the threats to public safety." Organizer Joey Gibson noted that the protest was planned before the murders, said he is not racist or a member of the alt-right movement, and argued that the rally was not in support of stabbing suspect Jeremy Christian.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
June 25 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons include war on a loop, the New York City mayoral race, and one almighty F-bomb
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival