A right-wing rally ended with minimal clashes Saturday in Portland, Oregon.
Hundreds gathered to support President Donald Trump and his “law and order” campaign. Although organizers were expecting 10,000, the number seemed to be lower than that.
The rally was planned by the Proud Boys, an organization that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. According to the flyer, the event was to “end domestic terrorism” and mentioned Kyle Rittenhouse and Jay Danielson.
Last month, Aaron “Jay” Danielson was shot and killed during clashes between Trump supporters and anti-fascist protesters. The suspect of the shooting was killed by law enforcement as they tried to arrest him in Washington state a week later.
Rittenhouse is the 17-year-old charged in the shooting deaths of two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Twitter users showed a smaller crowd for the event, with many wearing militarized armor, helmets and protective vests. Others wore MAGA hats and Trump campaign attire.
There was a counterprotest in the park next door, where about 1,000 gathered. Twitter posts also showed the crowd size, which seemed larger than the Proud Boys event.
Portland police did not report large clashes between the groups, however, they are investigating an assault at the Proud Boys rally that was posted on Twitter.
Police leadership canceled all scheduled days off for officers Saturday and was primarily focused on keeping dueling groups of protesters separated.
Portland police also stopped a vehicle leaving Delta Park, where the rally was held, for an obscured plate. Officers took possession of firearms, paintball guns, bats and shields from the vehicle, and only one person in the vehicle was cited.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell thanked Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office for assisting with the rally and mentioned the lack of clashes between the groups.
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