Oregon Gov. Kate Brown triggered special powers Friday to surge officers into Portland and put state police in charge of safety this weekend amid fears of more clashes when demonstrators from across the ideological spectrum gather for protests.
Ms. Brown, who has been relatively silent on near-nightly mayhem from left-wing anarchist protesters, took aim at what she called “white supremacist groups from out of town” she said were looking to spark a fight.
“When free expression is fueled by hate, and coupled with an intention to incite violence, then I need to do everything I can as governor to ensure the public safety of Oregonians,” she said.
The last time right-wing activists conducted a mass gathering — a car caravan through Portland — one of them was killed by an antifa adherent, who himself was later killed when he resisted arrest by federal agents.
Portland has been among the most mayhem-stricken cities this year in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis in May.
City police have recorded riots on 27 days, and have declared unlawful assemblies on still more. Fires have been ignited on city streets and in buildings on about half the nights, and left-wing demonstrators regularly assault police with bottles, fireworks and slingshots.
Police have responded with “crowd control” munitions including tear gas, which protesters say has escalated the situation.
The latest violence came Thursday night when a crowd set fire to the exterior of the Portland Police Association office, and police declared an unlawful assembly. Officers said they made arrests but did not use crowd control munitions that night.
This weekend is likely to be more complicated with the addition of far-right groups, at the same time as left-wing activists plan to rally.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said their goal is to try to keep the groups apart.
“We don’t really know how many people are going to up. This is not the type of thing you RSVP to. There’s going to be the potential we get a very, very large crowd,” the chief said.
Ms. Brown flexed what she called “executive” powers to put state police and the Multnomah County Sheriff in charge of public safety for the weekend.
Both state police and the sheriff’s office said they will be able to use tear gas on unruly crowds.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has attempted to impose a ban on use of tear gas by city police.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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