Portland gears for rallies amid fears of violence

By AFP
August 18, 2019

PORTLAND: President Donald Trump said Saturday that the city of Portland, Oregon is being monitored closely as it hosts a far-right rally amid fears of clashes with leftist counter-demonstrators.

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“Portland is being watched very carefully. Hopefully the Mayor will be able to properly do his job!,” Trump tweeted.

Trump tweeted that “Major consideration is being given to naming ANTIFA an “ORGANIZATION OF TERROR.” He did not elaborate. Antifa stands for anti-fascist and refers to a loose international coalition of activists and protesters who oppose far-right ideology.

Portland, one of the most liberal US cities, is an antifa stronghold, and the local Rose City Antifa is expected to send members out on to its streets on Saturday. Police were expected to be out in force to keep the opposing camps away from each other as they converge on a waterfront park.

The city has received no permit applications for large public rallies on Saturday, said Tina Jones, a spokeswoman for the Portland Police Bureau.

“A lot of this is seeing who shows up on game day,” Jones told a news conference Friday.

Saturday´s far-right gathering is being organized in part by a group that calls itself Proud Boys and says it is a grouping for young “Western chauvinist” men.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a major civil rights organization, has classified Proud Boys as a hate group.

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