1 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: We started this series by asking why Portland, and the 2 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: most accurate answer to that question is the history lesson. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: We gave an episode one, but the most direct answer 4 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 1: to why the city of Portland became the nexus of 5 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: an uprising starts with a bunch of teenagers in a 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: statue of George Washington. Our own Garrison Davis was there. 7 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: Here's what he experienced. On Thursday June, I set out 8 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: for a park in East Portland. The teenage activist group 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front or just the Wire Left 10 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 1: posted on their Twitter account that something was planned for 11 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: eight pm, so I made my way, expecting something interesting 12 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: to happen. The previous night, the Wire Left and some 13 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: New Black organizers had set up an autonomous zone style 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: occupation in front of the Mayor's apartment in the upscale 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: Pearl district, inspired by Seattle's Capitol Hill Occupied protest slash 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Coome morning, not enough bodies were 17 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: present at the attempted autonomous zone to resist the riot 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: police who arrived to clear the area. After the very 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: short lived Autonomous Zone, I had wondered what the Wire 20 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: Left had planned next. As eight pm approached On that Thursday, 21 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: only a little over a dozen people gathered at the 22 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: original meeting spot. The small group were mostly in black block. 23 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: Black block is a tactic that originated with German anti 24 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: globalization protesters. It involves wearing all black clothing to make 25 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: it difficult to identify specific people. Shortly after I arrived, 26 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: the crowd had began marching north. They decided to take 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: the sidewalk instead of the street to due to their 28 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: low numbers. In a matter of minutes, the crowd arrived 29 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: at their apparent destination, the Portland German American Society, which 30 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: features a large statue of George Washington out in front 31 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: of the building. Activists started by draping in a man 32 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: a can flag over the face of the statue and 33 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: lighting into blaze. People spray painted the base and statue itself, 34 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: writing genocidal colonist, slave owner and six nineteen, the year 35 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: the first enslaved Africans were brought to America. Slowly more 36 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: people arrived as calls for support were made out over 37 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: social media. The few dozen people in attendance started attaching 38 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: nylon straps to the head of the statue and began 39 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: pulling back and forth. By eleven pm, the statue of 40 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: George Washington had been completely torn down. The crowd quickly left, 41 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: calling the night of success, and police arrived a little 42 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: over half an hour later. At the time, no one 43 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: could have known that this small action would trigger a 44 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: series of events that would turn Portland's BLM protests into 45 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:14,959 Speaker 1: the biggest story in the entire country. Right Wing media 46 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: reacted to the toppling of the George Washington statue as expected. 47 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: A narrative was spun that police were letting a violent 48 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,559 Speaker 1: mob of ANTIFA rioters go around town destroying property without consequence. 49 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: Pundits criticized protesters for erasing history. The Portland police defended 50 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: their failure to stop the toppling of the statue by 51 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: complaining that they had been occupied with a concurrent protest 52 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: at the Justice Center fence. They stated the group blocked 53 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: the street for several hours, throwing projectiles such as hot 54 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: dogs at the Justice Centered doors. By this point, three 55 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: weeks into the protests, dozens of Portlanders had been arrested 56 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: at actions, and yet a narrative had begun to spread 57 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: on right wing media that there had been no consequences 58 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: for protesters engaging in destructive activity. The toppling of George 59 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: Washington flipped a switch in national far right media, and 60 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: suddenly Portland was a symbol of everything wrong with the left. 61 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: Here's President Trump on the campaign trail two days ago. 62 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: Left as radicals in Portland, Oregon ripped down a statue 63 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: of George Washington and wrapped it in an American flag 64 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: and set the American flag on fire. Democrat A Democrats. 65 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: Everything I tell you is Democrat. And you know, we 66 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: ought to do something. Mr Senators, we have two great senators. 67 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 1: We ought to come up with legislation that if you 68 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: burned the American flag, you go to jail for one year. 69 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: There are a lot of things wrong with that statement. 70 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: First off, some of the folks who took down that 71 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: statue would find being called a Democrat insulting. Also, the 72 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: Supreme Court has ruled that burning an American flag is 73 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: a constitutionally protected form of free speech. Portland protesters toppling 74 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,479 Speaker 1: at George Washington statue seems to have inspired the President 75 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: to suggest legislation that would ban not just the toppling 76 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: of statues, which was already illegal, but flag burning and 77 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: similar acts of protest. As it turned out, Donald Trump 78 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: would follow through on the idea of criminalizing that sort 79 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: of behavior, But why would protesters go through all the 80 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: trouble of tumbling down statues in the first place. We 81 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: talked with some members of the y LF, the Youth 82 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: Liberation Front to get their perspective. Since the President of 83 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: the United States has threatened these again literal children repeatedly. 84 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 1: We've redubbed the audio in order to protect their identities 85 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: because they represent monuments to people who are white supremacist 86 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: and genocidal, and as an anarchist, I think every statue 87 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: to a human should be torn down because they don't 88 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 1: believe in idolizing anyone, but especially like people who led 89 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: the way for colonization and just awful atrocities in their lifetime. 90 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: President Trump's fury over the George Washington action through the 91 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: Youth Liberation Front into the national spotlight. But that statue 92 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: was not actually the first to fall in Portland, and 93 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:05,839 Speaker 1: it would not be the last, though the wire Left 94 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: would become synonymous with a more radical, militant segment of 95 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: the protests acting under the cover of night. The first 96 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: statue to come down in Portland was actually at Thomas 97 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,720 Speaker 1: Jefferson High School. One of the only remaining majority black 98 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: schools in the state. On the afternoon of June fourteenth, 99 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: as a large peaceful march led by Rose City Justice 100 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: departed from Jefferson, the statue of the school's namesake was 101 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 1: torn from its pedestal by a small enthusiastic group in 102 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: broad daylight. Picking up the rest of the story is 103 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: my colleague and partner in getting horribly tear gassed A 104 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: Laine Kinchen. Toppling statues of historical slaveholders became a nationwide 105 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: trend during the first three weeks of the George Floyd protests. 106 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,280 Speaker 1: By the time the George Washington statue at the Portland 107 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: German American Association came down, eighteen other statues had fallen 108 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: to crowds across the country. In the weeks that followed, 109 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: at least seventeen more statues would meet the same fate, 110 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: and many more would be quietly relocated for their own protection, 111 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:00,359 Speaker 1: just as the wire left vandal Is. Some of the 112 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: Washington statue fits into a larger context of statue toppling, 113 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: the while of themselves are only one part of Portland's 114 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: activist ecosystem, Originally emerging from a loose coalition of anti 115 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: racist and anti Trump high school groups. Here are two 116 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: while of members talking about the genesis of the group 117 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen the comrades who started it made a lot 118 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: of connections with the Occupy ICE and started running things 119 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: running the social media. I think it was really born. 120 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: It came out of like really sporadic school protests, just 121 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: like whatever was happening, and it was something that people 122 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: felt was really important. Back then, the group slowly moved 123 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: towards like anti fascism and you liberation, trying to interest 124 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: agism as well in those spaces, and I think it 125 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: definitely went that direction completely. June. Yeah, that was like 126 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: a big anti fascist and fascist rally in Portland, and 127 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: I definitely think that kind of sparked a turning point 128 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: where I think like the organization really blossomed from there. Yeah, 129 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: we started off as like a very liberal group, like 130 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: one of those many boring student activist groups that just 131 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: like PARTICE, spated in walkouts. But then we started to 132 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: take a more radical turn. Like our first protest that 133 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: I was involved with was for gun control rally and 134 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: that's yeah, that's really cringe looking back, because now we're 135 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: all like insurrectionary anarchists. Oh. I think it definitely moved 136 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: from that into a more radical stance after June twenty nine, 137 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: and then came on the seventeenth, which was another big 138 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: rally in Portland. That um where he I mean like 139 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: a good amount of focus was placed on us all 140 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: of a sudden, Yeah, and I think it kind of 141 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: just continued after that. Jacob bu Eros, the founder of 142 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: Direct Action Alliance, says he first encountered what would eventually 143 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: become the wire Left in March of seventeen while organizing 144 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 1: to counter a far right demonstration in the wealthy suburb 145 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: of Lake Oswego. It would be you know, Rose City Antifa, 146 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: Direct Action Alliance tm w Y, a left which I 147 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: think had back then it was still called Oregonians Against 148 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: Trump or something like that. But um, that's when we 149 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: first started organizing together to confront the right wing. Was 150 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: during that time in March of seventeen through May of seventeen, 151 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: and then after that it was discoordinated effort. Jacob says 152 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 1: the Direct Action Alliance was formed out of a sense 153 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: of desperation in late Yeah, after the election, I just 154 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: didn't want to keep wasting my time in politics, and 155 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,440 Speaker 1: I felt this really big sense of urgency. And around 156 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: that time was when they started attacking people um at 157 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: Standing Rock, and both of my kids are our citizens 158 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: of the Cherokee Nation. My partners the citizen of the 159 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: Cherokee Nation, and they were they were all really upset 160 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 1: about it, and I was really upset about it. Jacob 161 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,559 Speaker 1: had been an activist for a while previous to this point, 162 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: and he was already familiar with Portland organizers who had 163 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: risen to prominence with the first Black Lives Matter protests. 164 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: In These include Danielle James and the founder of Don't 165 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: Shoot Portland, Teresa Raefford. We each have our own individual 166 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: thing that we really focus on, except for in the 167 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: Direct Action Alliance, we kind of just do everything. Most 168 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: groups have their own thing that they focus on. But 169 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: we're all the same people helping each other behind the scene. 170 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: So when Wild Left is working focusing on something that's 171 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: anti anti police, right, it's the same people who organized 172 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: the large peaceful blm rallies who are working with them 173 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: to support them. And so that's where the intersection is. 174 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: We're all one big family here in Portland. It's not 175 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:25,440 Speaker 1: a it's not like in other cities. Where we actually 176 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: have to build alliance sause people have been active in 177 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: the city for so long and have been seeing the 178 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: same faces for so long. I'd say it all goes 179 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: back to Terressa Rayford. She's the one. She's the one 180 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 1: who took it from even when the when the Occupy 181 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: movement happened and kind of molded that energy into something 182 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: where Portland became an activist scene. Again. This this city 183 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 1: wasn't wasn't very active. It kind of lost its edge 184 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: until Terressa Rayford came along and started pushing people to 185 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: come out, to show up to fight back. When Kwanis 186 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: Hayes was killed, was out there calling everyone to come 187 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: out do something about it. And I'd say that she was. 188 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: I'd say she's at the core of it. I mean 189 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: most of the people who I've met, who I've coordinated with, 190 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: who I've worked with, all of those groups that I 191 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: just mentioned to you, I met all of them that 192 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: Don't Shoot Portland rallies. Way back before Trump was president, 193 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 1: Rayford had originally formed Don't Shoot PDX in response to 194 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: the killing of Michael Brown and Ferguson, but the failed 195 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: PPB shooting of teenager Quanice Hayes in February seventeen, gave 196 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: a new local urgency to calls for police accountability and 197 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:34,719 Speaker 1: came in the midst of an upswing of far right 198 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: mobilizations targeting Portland. Every city has certain defining moments, traumas 199 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: which galvanized the community, spur the creation of new coalitions, 200 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: and give rise to new organizing strategies. One of those 201 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: defining moments for Portland came in May of tw seventeen, 202 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: when a white supremacist named Jeremy Christian murdered two people 203 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: on a max light rail train. The day before the killings, 204 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: Christian assaulted another Orlander, Dmitria Hester. Here she recounts her experience. Okay, 205 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: so three years ago, Um, Jeremy Joseph Christian um attacked me. 206 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 1: He's a white known supremacist that's here in organists that 207 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 1: the police knew about. Everybody's the the mayor knew about. 208 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: I mean, everybody just knew about him because he had 209 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: set the tone at every march and staying and stating 210 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: how much he hates, you know, the races, anyone that 211 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: wasn't black, and wasn't that wasn't white, and wanted to 212 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: harm or kill anyone that wasn't you know those descents 213 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: of that descent of being white and Christian. So um, 214 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: he verbally attacks me for three stops on the MAX 215 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: and May two thousand, two thousand's seven teen front and center, 216 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 1: often with a bullhorn in hand. Dmitria became one of 217 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: the most recognizable voices of Portland's protests. The man she's describing, 218 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: Jeremy Christian, was a regular attendee of far right rallies 219 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 1: in the Portland area. That night, Dimitria fended off Christian 220 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: with pepper spray. Police responded, but Christian was not detained 221 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: and he got away to kill the people. The next 222 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: day on that same green line. He was looking for 223 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,080 Speaker 1: me because I mased him the night before. He encountered 224 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: to um one African American lady and one lady who 225 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:40,599 Speaker 1: had to have Geva Bevon and um she wasn't. He 226 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: thought she was Muslimed, So he verbally started attaching these 227 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: little girls under eighteen, and three men came into their rescuing. 228 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: Was defending them and tried to de escalate the problem, 229 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: but he stabbed two of wom and killed them, and 230 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 1: uh stabbed a third and tried to kill him. So 231 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: the police um got the call not to even use 232 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 1: uh force when they were got the call that he 233 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,439 Speaker 1: did this on the max. This just shows you how 234 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: the police play a part and um everything he did 235 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,080 Speaker 1: and the reason why he got away with what he did. 236 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: And then so when they actually um caught him, he 237 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: was still wielding the knife that he killed people with. UM. 238 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: He threatened four people on his way to when they 239 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 1: detained him. And the only reason they detained him again 240 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: was because the public was following him. And UM, they 241 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: didn't even shoot him with rubber bullis or cheered gasim 242 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: or anything. With a knife in his hand and threatening 243 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,200 Speaker 1: the police, he was able to throw the knife on 244 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: the police car, still drinking his wine that he had 245 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: in another Gatoray bottle. UM, and they detain him. And 246 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: after they detain him, he bragged about what he did. 247 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: Ricky John Best and Tallesia Namchaimchi died in the attack. 248 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,840 Speaker 1: The third man, Micah Fletcher, survived. A Few weeks before 249 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 1: the murders, Christian had attended a right wing free speech 250 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: event in the Montevilla neighborhood of Portland. The rally aimed 251 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: to build on the momentum of the Lake Oswego event. 252 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 1: In March. Micah Fletcher, the only survivor of the stabbings, 253 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: had been in Montevilla as well, counter protesting alongside Direct 254 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 1: Action Alliance, Rose City, ANTIFA and what would eventually become 255 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: the y LF. In some ways, Portland is a very 256 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: small town. After the murders, far right rallies in Portland continued. 257 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: Anti fascist counter protests were large and spirited at first, 258 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 1: but as Effie Bound describes, that didn't last. And in 259 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: a year since that we had seen UM the counter 260 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: demonstrations dwindle to just basically a small um Black Blocks 261 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: that was based that was showing up to counter that UM. 262 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 1: And on June it had turned into a really really 263 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: violent UM events where a lot of folks on our 264 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: side got pretty seriously hurt and um some of them 265 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: had to go to the hospital and sustained school fractures. 266 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: And there was that video of um, you know, etan 267 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: Ordine or Rufio, um, you know, knocking out somebody, and 268 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: UM that kind of you know became the viral Proud 269 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: Boy sensation. It did, and really kind of um you know, 270 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: did a lot for recruitment for them UM, and so 271 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: we decided that what we needed in Portland was UM, 272 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: a strong organizing effort to get as many people as 273 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: possible to show up to oppose them when they have 274 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: these rallies. FEE is part of a group called pop mop, 275 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,440 Speaker 1: short for Popular Mobilization. Their goal is to use innovative 276 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 1: and community friendly organizing tactics to foster a big tent 277 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: approach to anti fascism. We planned pretty closely with Rosity, 278 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 1: Antifa and d s a UM. Pretty much all of 279 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,000 Speaker 1: our events that we've had have been in partnership with 280 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: at least those two organizations, and then for various events, 281 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: we've had coalitions of up to thirty, you know, plus 282 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: organizations at various times have signed onto different actions that 283 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 1: we've had, involving groups like Jobs with Justice and UM 284 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: like the Buddhist Piece Fellowship and UH Queer Liberation Front, 285 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:31,440 Speaker 1: UH UH Symbiosis and UH Portland's Assembly. There's a lot 286 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: of different organization since pop mob has countered far right 287 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: events with online fundraisers, hundreds of free vegan milkshakes, and 288 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: anti fascist dance parties. When the George Floyd protests began, 289 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: they took on a different role. So one thing is 290 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: that we've always had a very very narrow mission as 291 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:52,440 Speaker 1: an organization, and we've been really intentional about UM trying 292 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: to stick within the scope of that mission, which is 293 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: inspiring people to show up and oppose the far right 294 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:04,360 Speaker 1: and UM. So UM, we didn't feel like we were 295 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,400 Speaker 1: in a position, UM where we should be leading anything. 296 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:11,240 Speaker 1: So we instead UM agreed as a group that we 297 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 1: wanted to operate in a support role only. And UM. 298 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: One of the things that we've done over the last 299 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: a couple of years is kind of really built up 300 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:22,199 Speaker 1: on a social media presence and UM have you know, 301 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: had a lot of UM but like enough, there's some 302 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: really talented people within our groups that do a lot 303 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: of great media work and UM, and so we had 304 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: basically just wanted to use our platform to boost the 305 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: organizing the other groups were doing on the ground. Don't 306 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,919 Speaker 1: Shoot would organize rallies throughout the summer. Marches called by 307 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: the Direct Action Alliance would repeatedly target police infrastructure. But 308 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,120 Speaker 1: as new groups sprung up and led marches of thousands, 309 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,359 Speaker 1: Portland also had a robust support network of activist groups 310 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: looking for ways to help. Longtime Portland activist Gregory McKelvey 311 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: describes the transition to new leadership and groups springing up 312 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: in There were people who were new brand, knew that 313 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: we're called to the moment because of the murder of 314 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: George Floyd. And I think that it is really imperative 315 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: that those people become the leaders. Also think it's imperative 316 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: that the people who were previous leaders take a step 317 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 1: back and allow those people to be the new leaders. Right, um, 318 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 1: And but I think that we cannot keep reinventing the 319 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,919 Speaker 1: wheel every time that protest movement comes up. So what 320 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: needs to happen is the previous leaders of every protest 321 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: movement that happens need to mentor and try and um 322 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,440 Speaker 1: teach the lessons that they learned to the new generation 323 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: that is called to a current moment. The stabbing would 324 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: put all eyes on Portland, though no outlets reporting on 325 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: the incident knew about Demitria's encounter the day before. Months later, 326 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 1: she would link with activist group Don't Shoot Portland and 327 00:19:50,200 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 1: other organizations to tell her story. Thank You, Thank Good 328 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 1: would prevail over evil. For three years, we our community, 329 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: the victims, have been waking up hoping to see so 330 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: closer to the end of the senseless travesty. Today it's 331 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 1: chinally here would a twill unanimous votes from the people 332 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: of our community. Let's get community to thank you for 333 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:40,440 Speaker 1: the beautiful, amazing, resilient support. Through this, we have changed 334 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:45,880 Speaker 1: the narrative. They came hard and strong towards represent our community, 335 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 1: ready intelligience, our heroes, and will forever be looked at 336 00:20:50,680 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: as hero We're confind until everyone like Jeremy Christians it's 337 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: all the street is. They are not welcome here. We 338 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 1: look back until we are creative. Well. She'd continue to 339 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: work with Don't Shoot, which had grown to become the 340 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: largest Black Lives Matter organization in the state throughout the 341 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:27,119 Speaker 1: litigation of her case. In June, well into the Portland uprisings, 342 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: Jeremy Christian was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole. 343 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: At the sentencing hearing, Demitria offered her own indictment of 344 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:37,919 Speaker 1: not only Christian, but the entire law enforcement system for 345 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: facilitating people like him, before offering some searing last words 346 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: for her attacker. Need people feel colored. That's our community, 347 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,879 Speaker 1: can't all. We need our community and always to do 348 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,439 Speaker 1: what has been for our community. Not people get are 349 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: looking how the popularity and these know we're wants to 350 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: stop me from using our debts to capitalize and make 351 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,640 Speaker 1: a profit at the We will not let you get 352 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 1: these people in office. You are not welcome here and 353 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: to the Westaer Derek and Christian. Your mom should have 354 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: flat too. You are a waste of bread. Oh can 355 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: you die? You go to hill. I hope you write, yeah, Hey, 356 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:45,000 Speaker 1: what do I tell you? Can water? Fine? The exchange 357 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: would become fuel for Demetrius Chance in the streets. Next 358 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: is my colleague Beatrix. Beatrix is a reporter who worked 359 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 1: at me on the ground in Portland. One time I 360 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:55,640 Speaker 1: watched her get shot in the head with a grenade 361 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: by a federal agent. She's fine, she had a good helmet. 362 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: She's going to take you through what happened next, starting 363 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: with the story of Portland's largest new activist group. As 364 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 1: thousands of newly activated Portlanders looked for meaningful ways to 365 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 1: latch onto the movement, butting in their own backyard, one 366 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 1: organization quickly sprung up as one of the loudest in 367 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: the crowd, Rose City Justice. Almost overnight, Rose City Justice 368 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: or r c J, was leading marches throughout the city 369 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,200 Speaker 1: educating about Portland's past its black community, gentrification and police brutality. 370 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: Led by a black truck an enthusiastic chance, these marches 371 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: amassed upwards of ten thousand people at times. Jedi was 372 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 1: part of another organization that formed in the wake of 373 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,439 Speaker 1: Floyd's death. His group, Portland's Civil Rights Collective, began informally 374 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,399 Speaker 1: through a chance meet up on the first night of 375 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: the Portland uprisings. Their goal at first making cops hate 376 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,720 Speaker 1: their jobs. Every night, he and the PCRC team would 377 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: take to the streets, warring with cops downtown in an 378 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: attempt to drain police resources. Their fight would unknowingly lead 379 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: them to our c J So the first um me 380 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: and Kinsey, you know, Kinsey Smith. Um, I met her 381 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: that night and we had just like linked up and 382 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: just so happened to just find ourselves leading. I mean, 383 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,120 Speaker 1: like eighty random people that were down just around battling 384 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: the cops all night. We just kind of fell into 385 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 1: that role because I mean there's very few black people 386 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,400 Speaker 1: to begin with, even downtown anyway. So um, we were 387 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: like the only ones that we could really see in 388 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: our vicinity that we're able to like. Um, I hate 389 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: the word leader, but just like lead the allies around 390 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: UM and trying to keep them safe. And so that 391 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,879 Speaker 1: night we got we exchanged numbers with like eighty different 392 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 1: people that we had in that group. Well really I 393 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 1: took everybody's number and put it all on the signal 394 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,920 Speaker 1: group chat, and we just kept going out every single night. 395 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,680 Speaker 1: And then eventually, uh, maybe like five or six days, 396 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: maybe a week passes in a Kinsey had came up 397 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:09,440 Speaker 1: with a name, and she named it Port the Civil 398 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: Rights Collective, And so we did our things for like 399 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,679 Speaker 1: a week or two, and then we linked up with 400 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,879 Speaker 1: ros City Justice. Once the merge happened, they began taking 401 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: to the streets in a very different way. No longer 402 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: were they standing toe to toe with cops every night. 403 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 1: Now they were marching in the streets. Sometimes. Jedi said, 404 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,120 Speaker 1: it felt like they were going nowhere. Man. It's that's 405 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: a it's interesting because it's not how I would have 406 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,720 Speaker 1: probably imagined it because Rosity Justice at the time was 407 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: not they were really going out at night. I feel 408 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: like they were doing like the early date or late evening, 409 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: but still daytime marches because it was still light out UM. 410 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: And then things were like calmed down, like you know, 411 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 1: once it got dark, uh PCRC, we were like out 412 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 1: out on the ground every night all night, uh, just 413 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,680 Speaker 1: battling the police basically. UM. And so when we linked 414 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: up with r c J, because they they had like 415 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: a much larger following at at the time, and they 416 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: also had a larger social media presence that was like 417 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: twice the size as of ours. In a way, seems 418 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:23,240 Speaker 1: like we defaulted to their style of of resistance basically, 419 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: which was just like doing these Now when I think 420 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 1: about people called them the long marches to nowhere, which 421 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:36,680 Speaker 1: is really true in retrospect, that's kind of what what's happening. 422 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,120 Speaker 1: I'd like to think that we still made an impact 423 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,920 Speaker 1: on uh a lot of the community that we would 424 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 1: roll around, a lot of the neighborhoods that we we'd 425 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,920 Speaker 1: roll around, Like it was nice to see like families 426 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:52,159 Speaker 1: come out of their houses and like actually joined the 427 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: marches sometimes, or you know, just seeing their kids on 428 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,919 Speaker 1: the porch with holding up their signs and stuff and 429 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 1: that kind of stuff. But when I think about how 430 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: I literally never ever saw the police that any of 431 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,920 Speaker 1: these marches, it it makes me wonder like just the 432 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:13,879 Speaker 1: effectiveness of it all. If the police didn't give a 433 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: funk about what we're doing then was it really helping? 434 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,320 Speaker 1: But I don't I don't think that's a fair assessment 435 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:28,359 Speaker 1: of exactly like how we impacted the community. Nonetheless, like 436 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 1: it kind of just it evolved into basically us doing 437 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: marches every day, trying to basically trying to activate people 438 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 1: to come out. It's kind of I guess how I 439 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 1: would look at it, um, but that's kind of what 440 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,880 Speaker 1: it turned into. It can It went from us going 441 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: out every night, battling the police too, gathering like hundreds 442 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,560 Speaker 1: and thousands of people actually uh to go on these 443 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 1: long marches while r c J led massive actions the 444 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: so called peaceful protests favored by the likes of Wheeler, 445 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,680 Speaker 1: events at the Sacred Fence continued to draw the ire 446 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,480 Speaker 1: of City Hall and the police. Some protesters even started 447 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,439 Speaker 1: to wonder if there was really any point in getting 448 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 1: tear gassed at the same location every night. Divisions began 449 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,240 Speaker 1: to mount between our CJ's education leaning resistance during the 450 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 1: day and the more lively and more volatile standoffs with 451 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: cops at the fence at night. Rifts formed between the 452 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,919 Speaker 1: peaceful crowd and what you might call the direct action crowd. 453 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: Activist and live streamer Max Smith said he's purposefully not 454 00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: tied to any one organization, but as the so called 455 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 1: fence wars raged on, he too found himself questioning how 456 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: this was furthering the cause for black lives A fight 457 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,960 Speaker 1: and fence that was what we were here for. You know. 458 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:53,959 Speaker 1: The fence was like some ship that kind of it 459 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,960 Speaker 1: was like ed to call the Grand thet autos aside mission, 460 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: like this isn't this has nothing to do with what 461 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:00,720 Speaker 1: we're supposed to be doing right now, but we have 462 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: to complete this to get back in the game, you know. 463 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,520 Speaker 1: And it was really weird, and I think at that 464 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:13,080 Speaker 1: moment I really realized that the distraction was intentional and 465 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 1: that this was all getting just diverted to become like 466 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 1: a like a Trump campaign at you know, He's gonna 467 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 1: come through and support these police unions and this is 468 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: his big commercial for it. So it was a very uh. 469 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 1: I felt like it was a frustrating part of the 470 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: protest because a it was really a dangerous and people 471 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 1: were really getting hurt and kidnapped and all that kind 472 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: of weird stuff. And then on top of that, it 473 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,440 Speaker 1: wasn't the fight that I wanted to you know, to 474 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: be fighting, but it was. But it's the fight that 475 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: brings out a lot of people. So a very contrasting 476 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,840 Speaker 1: and confusing time for sure. Gregory also found frustration with 477 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 1: some of the unclear goals of the protests as they developed. 478 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: I think this is a big part of the story 479 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: that I think is not being told, or that the 480 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: harder further left UM has failed to really reckon with 481 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:11,240 Speaker 1: UM in an effective way. So UM one, I'm still 482 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: I'm sure if any of the protests have an incredibly 483 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,520 Speaker 1: coherent goal. Um, for some it's abolish the police, for 484 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:19,480 Speaker 1: some it's defund the police. For some of those things 485 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: mean the same thing. And then I also think there 486 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: are a ton of Portlanders, actually most Portlanders, after working 487 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,080 Speaker 1: in politics for so long, who don't support either of 488 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: those things. I mean, we hold all of those things. UM. 489 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 1: They're not popular. UM, They're incredibly popular on the left, 490 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: and if you were at the protest, you would think 491 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,800 Speaker 1: that these are unanimous things. They're not. UM. So I 492 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 1: think there was an incredible opportunity for us when those 493 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 1: massive protests were happening to get a lot of change, 494 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,240 Speaker 1: not just the common sense reforms that I think would 495 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: make you know. People on the hard left just call 496 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:55,600 Speaker 1: me a liberal. As divisions grew, trouble loomed for our 497 00:30:55,640 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 1: c J. In addition to the sometimes fierce arguments over tactics, 498 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 1: many Portlanders criticized r c J leadership for including a 499 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: former military police officer. There were also claims of financial mismanagement, 500 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,480 Speaker 1: particularly once leaders from our CJ posted about attending a 501 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: luxurious three day retreat. As tensions rose, activists trew lines 502 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,480 Speaker 1: in the sand and began retreating to their respective corners 503 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 1: from it, people started, I guess people weren't really moving 504 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: on principle, and people weren't moving slow enough because a 505 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: lot of people were really new to to like organizing 506 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:40,800 Speaker 1: and protesting. People just wanted to like get their way in. 507 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:45,040 Speaker 1: They wanted things to go their way basically, and when 508 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: you have too many cooks in the kitchen, you know 509 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: the recipe is gonna get sucked up eventually, especially when 510 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 1: everybody wants their recipe to work. I mean I personally 511 00:31:54,840 --> 00:32:00,840 Speaker 1: left because I was with PCRC and the split was 512 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:04,840 Speaker 1: basically all the original r c J members and all 513 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 1: the original PCRC members are splitting down the middle, and 514 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 1: we're going our separate ways because we had initially combined forces. 515 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 1: R c J didn't formally disband after the falling out, 516 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: but things got noticeably quieter for the group after June. 517 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: During the height of the r c J Days, their 518 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: marches had drawn thousands multiple times a week, but by 519 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:31,840 Speaker 1: late June they were mostly boosting other groups actions via Instagram. 520 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:34,160 Speaker 1: Many of the organizers involved with the group went on 521 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:37,800 Speaker 1: to form their own organizations that continue to play key 522 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,480 Speaker 1: roles in the movement today. Youth let orgs like Friday's 523 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:46,240 Speaker 1: for Freedom and Black Youth Movement immediately began staging community 524 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: focused neighborhood events throughout the city. Another group, calling itself 525 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:56,560 Speaker 1: Justice Unity, Integrity, Community Equality or Juice PDX, would go 526 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 1: on to host several rallies later in the summer. Despite 527 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: the split, organizers remember parts of the r c J 528 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:07,640 Speaker 1: Days fondly. Jedi says the mass marches of June helped 529 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:11,320 Speaker 1: feed an undeniable sense of momentum. The amount of people 530 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 1: that will come out and also like just some of 531 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 1: the education that we're giving to the crowd was I 532 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 1: think really amazing, man, and it'smissed um because during those marches, 533 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,160 Speaker 1: like I would create like little speeches to give to 534 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:31,000 Speaker 1: the crowd, and so with Chrissy UM, and so would 535 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: see be like some of the other organizers, we get 536 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: on the mic and like have like oh, we'd also 537 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 1: like give the crowd homework sometimes, so like we'd be like, 538 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 1: all right, we want you all to read like the 539 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 1: Willie Lynch letters. And then like two days March, like 540 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:47,760 Speaker 1: literally the next day or the day where we like 541 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:49,280 Speaker 1: asked the crowd, all right, so raise your hand if 542 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:52,720 Speaker 1: you read that, you know. So Um, those were really 543 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 1: nice moments because like you'd see some people literally raise 544 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: their hand and obviously you know, some people probably have him, 545 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: but like some people literally did their homework. So it 546 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:04,960 Speaker 1: was nice to see that. And also just like i'd say, 547 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,319 Speaker 1: like a high points, just we've never seen mass mobilization 548 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 1: like that ever happened important I will I've never seen 549 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:16,399 Speaker 1: that before. Uh, for for an extended period of time, 550 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:18,879 Speaker 1: like seeing thousands of people come out every single day, 551 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:23,840 Speaker 1: um to basically wake up their neighborhoods. That seemed like 552 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 1: that was really powerful for for all of us too, 553 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: to feel like we were kind of shifting the you know, 554 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:37,640 Speaker 1: the we're causing like a paradigm shift in our community. 555 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:41,760 Speaker 1: With Rose City Justice no longer organizing large scale marches 556 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 1: on a regular basis, and the nightly crowd at the 557 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:48,200 Speaker 1: Justice Center and getting smaller each night, some activists decided 558 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:52,680 Speaker 1: a change was needed. On June, people again attempted a 559 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 1: temporary autonomous zone, this time in North Portland in front 560 00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:59,759 Speaker 1: of the Portland Police Bureaus North Precinct. Barricades were put 561 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: up along the streets the precincts doors facing the occupied 562 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:07,080 Speaker 1: area were boarded shut and the main exit an entrance 563 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,040 Speaker 1: facing the other direction were left open so that police 564 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,320 Speaker 1: could vacate the premises. Police responded to this occupation faster 565 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: than the one at Wheeler's apartment. For one, it was 566 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,520 Speaker 1: at a police precinct, so there was a police presence, 567 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: and two, it had the same problem as the first 568 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,560 Speaker 1: attempted autonomous zone. Not enough people were present to hold 569 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,719 Speaker 1: down the area. After only a few hours, police came 570 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 1: charging from around the corner, ripping apart barricades and firing 571 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:45,600 Speaker 1: off Stunn grenades and pepper balls. The crowd moved to 572 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,920 Speaker 1: block North and then quickly started a dumpster fire in 573 00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:53,160 Speaker 1: the middle of the road. The police, you worked at 574 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:57,560 Speaker 1: dispers now ran control agents and impact unions will be 575 00:35:57,719 --> 00:36:02,719 Speaker 1: you and again there your bail to the lie. There 576 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:05,760 Speaker 1: was also a second, much smaller trash can fire beside 577 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:08,960 Speaker 1: a building adjacent to the police precinct. The flames from 578 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 1: inside the trash can caught on fire some of the 579 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:16,240 Speaker 1: plywood boards covering a window. Protesters noticed and people began yelling, 580 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,560 Speaker 1: this is a black owned business. Put the fire out. 581 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:22,520 Speaker 1: People scrambled to put out the small flames on the plywood, 582 00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:25,480 Speaker 1: and at the same time police started shooting off tear 583 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:29,479 Speaker 1: gas and flash bangs. The next day, the police, mayor 584 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:33,680 Speaker 1: and local news companies spread the narrative that protesters locked 585 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:38,200 Speaker 1: and barricaded officers inside their precinct and then the precinct 586 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:44,080 Speaker 1: on fire. But what happened here last night, with doors 587 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:49,560 Speaker 1: being nailed shut, barred shut, with fires being set to 588 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:54,800 Speaker 1: the outside of the building with people inside, that is 589 00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:59,440 Speaker 1: not transformation. What happened here isn't helping to bring about 590 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:04,640 Speaker 1: any meaningful change, reform, or an end of the historic races, 591 00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:06,920 Speaker 1: and that all of us are joined together and seeking 592 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:12,280 Speaker 1: to eliminate. Last night it was plainly and simply about arson. 593 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:19,000 Speaker 1: It was about destruction, It was about endangering lives, it's 594 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: blatant criminal violence, violence that is totally unacceptable. That, of course, 595 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,000 Speaker 1: is not what happened, But once a narrative gets spread 596 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:33,920 Speaker 1: enough through mainstream outlets, it's very difficult to correct. Throughout 597 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:36,840 Speaker 1: the next few months, Portland police would put out misleading 598 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:40,120 Speaker 1: statements and flat out lies regarding the protests, which news 599 00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:43,640 Speaker 1: outlets would signal boost and treat as absolute fact. We 600 00:37:44,239 --> 00:38:01,160 Speaker 1: get after the protest at the North Precinct, people still 601 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:03,279 Speaker 1: wanted to get away from the nightly dread at the 602 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:07,560 Speaker 1: Justice Center and Fence Direct Action Alliance, the Youth Liberation 603 00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:10,279 Speaker 1: Front and some of the BIPOC activists who started the 604 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:14,480 Speaker 1: initial Justice Center protest organized another protest in North Portland, 605 00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:17,920 Speaker 1: this time at the Police Union Building. So for a 606 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:20,400 Speaker 1: month we were just targeting downtown, right, we were just 607 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 1: straight downtown every single day, and we we figured that 608 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:26,839 Speaker 1: we needed to diversify a little bit and start hitting 609 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:31,920 Speaker 1: other targets around town. Um going and protesting in areas 610 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:35,200 Speaker 1: like that, in neighborhood letting people participate, you know, come 611 00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:36,840 Speaker 1: out into the streets with us. So that's when we 612 00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:39,439 Speaker 1: decided to start marching through neighborhoods. So we did another 613 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:43,560 Speaker 1: events in Peninsula Park on June, and this time we 614 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:46,680 Speaker 1: wanted to make it a lot more community oriented, so 615 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,080 Speaker 1: we invited a lot of artists to come perform. Mike 616 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:55,000 Speaker 1: Crenshaw was there, um Emiliana Desapato was there, um uh 617 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:58,360 Speaker 1: c three, the Guru, all these people. It was like 618 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,320 Speaker 1: a concert slash alley and it was great. And we 619 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,160 Speaker 1: and that was the first night we targeted the Portland 620 00:39:04,239 --> 00:39:06,920 Speaker 1: Police Association building and so we went out there and 621 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:10,440 Speaker 1: that's when they gassed us, and they gassed the whole neighborhood. 622 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:12,279 Speaker 1: That was the first night that they gassed an entire 623 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:16,240 Speaker 1: fucking neighborhood. When hundreds of Portlanders arrived at the Police 624 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:20,000 Speaker 1: Union building to protest, the building was already surrounded by 625 00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:24,960 Speaker 1: Portland police and Oregon State troopers in riot gere. Within minutes, 626 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:29,799 Speaker 1: an unlawful assembly was declared, and soon after cops began 627 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,760 Speaker 1: pushing people east away from the p p A building. 628 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:57,280 Speaker 1: Do not stop now, get you get. The cops shoved 629 00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,759 Speaker 1: and hit people with their batons while walking east for 630 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,600 Speaker 1: few blocks, and then began to bull rush the crowd. 631 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:06,440 Speaker 1: In a bulrush, a line of officers sprints towards the 632 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:09,880 Speaker 1: massive people, knocking over as many as possible, and then 633 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,800 Speaker 1: officers in the back typically come to tackle and arrest 634 00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:17,640 Speaker 1: anyone on the ground. That night, officers initially used smoke grenades, 635 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:21,520 Speaker 1: flash bangs, pepper balls and rubber bullets as well. This 636 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:25,279 Speaker 1: event has been deep and unlawful. Assimily, you need to 637 00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:30,360 Speaker 1: disperse to the east, killer to a lawful subject, future 638 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:34,400 Speaker 1: rest and forced to include crowd control of munitions moved 639 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:39,719 Speaker 1: to the east. After multiple bulrushes and constant volleys of munitions, 640 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:43,880 Speaker 1: protesters began throwing munitions back at the armored police, along 641 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:47,919 Speaker 1: with plastic water bottles. Police responded by declaring a riot 642 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:54,959 Speaker 1: and blanketing the neighborhood, and tear gas first be used 643 00:40:55,080 --> 00:41:05,640 Speaker 1: to dispersed on the area. Tear gas had been banned 644 00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:10,360 Speaker 1: in Portland since June nine. On the eight in Japman Square, 645 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:14,520 Speaker 1: Mayor Wheeler had addressed an unfriendly crowd of activists who 646 00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:17,840 Speaker 1: had spent the last two weeks getting repeatedly tear gassed 647 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:21,000 Speaker 1: by Portland police. He promised to ban the use of 648 00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:25,440 Speaker 1: tear gas the next day. Soon after he left, officers 649 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:30,439 Speaker 1: gas the crowd. The next day, Wheeler kept his word, 650 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,760 Speaker 1: sort of. The band came with a lot of holes. 651 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:39,360 Speaker 1: Gas was allowed in situations where quote lives or safety 652 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,719 Speaker 1: of the public or the police are at risk, which 653 00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:47,040 Speaker 1: was too vague to mean much. But Portland police did 654 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:49,600 Speaker 1: take longer than usual to use tear gas on the 655 00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:53,960 Speaker 1: night of June. The reason why was that earlier that day, 656 00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:57,400 Speaker 1: Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law a bill that 657 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:01,080 Speaker 1: banned the use of tear gas. The exception was if 658 00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:05,360 Speaker 1: Portland police declared a riot and announced out loud that 659 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:09,160 Speaker 1: tear gas was about to be used. So, of course, 660 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,160 Speaker 1: the police switched tactics and made sure to declare a 661 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:15,000 Speaker 1: riot when they wanted to use tear gas. On the 662 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:18,279 Speaker 1: thirty The main justifications seemed to be the protesters were 663 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,600 Speaker 1: near the Union building and some of them had hucked 664 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:25,640 Speaker 1: plastic water bottles at riot lines of armored cups. The 665 00:42:25,719 --> 00:42:30,160 Speaker 1: Portland police declared a riot and started gassing. In the end, 666 00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:33,160 Speaker 1: neither the state nor local bands on tear gas helped 667 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,120 Speaker 1: the Portlanders who lived in houses and apartments along North 668 00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:39,399 Speaker 1: Lombard Street. It was a balmy summer night and many 669 00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:41,600 Speaker 1: of them had their windows open in the fresh air. 670 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:45,319 Speaker 1: When that air turned to poison gas, multiple residents were 671 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:48,640 Speaker 1: assaulted and even arrested while trying to flee their gas 672 00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:52,600 Speaker 1: filled homes outside of Oregon. On the federal level, other 673 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:55,440 Speaker 1: events in late June would contribute to Portland becoming the 674 00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:59,399 Speaker 1: most heavily tear gas city in the United States. On June, 675 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:04,319 Speaker 1: President Trump had signed Executive Order one three nine three 676 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:10,600 Speaker 1: three protecting American Monuments, memorials and statues, and federal property. 677 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:14,280 Speaker 1: As we've already explained, toppling statues had become a viral 678 00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:17,200 Speaker 1: sensation at the time, but the toppling of a George 679 00:43:17,239 --> 00:43:20,200 Speaker 1: Washington statue by teenage Portlanders seemed to have been the 680 00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:24,120 Speaker 1: most direct inspiration for this executive order. President even referenced 681 00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:26,960 Speaker 1: Portland in his press release on the matter. The order 682 00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:31,080 Speaker 1: also presents its own timeline of the nationwide protests of June, 683 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:35,920 Speaker 1: saying quote, over the last five weeks, there have been 684 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:39,640 Speaker 1: sustained assaults on the life and property of civilians, law 685 00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:44,560 Speaker 1: enforcement officers, government property, and revered American monuments such as 686 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:48,200 Speaker 1: the Lincoln Memorial. Many of the rioters, arsonists, and left 687 00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:51,280 Speaker 1: wing extremists who have carried out and supported these acts 688 00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:56,239 Speaker 1: have explicitly identified themselves with ideologies such as Marxism that 689 00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:59,920 Speaker 1: call for the destruction of the United States system of government. 690 00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:04,360 Speaker 1: Anarchists and left wing extremists have sought to advance a 691 00:44:04,520 --> 00:44:08,160 Speaker 1: fringe ideology that paints the United States of America as 692 00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:12,600 Speaker 1: fundamentally unjust, and have sought to impose that ideology on 693 00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:18,400 Speaker 1: Americans through violence and mob intimidation. The order describes a massive, 694 00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:22,920 Speaker 1: overwhelmingly peaceful nationwide protest movement throughout May and June is 695 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:27,319 Speaker 1: five nightmarish weeks of rampant violence and murder, but its 696 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:31,840 Speaker 1: solutions focus confusingly on the prevention of vandalism to statues. 697 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:36,480 Speaker 1: It states that quote United States law authors is a 698 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:39,880 Speaker 1: penalty of up to ten years imprisonment for the wilful 699 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:43,480 Speaker 1: injury of federal property end quote, and goes on to 700 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:47,920 Speaker 1: say state and locals law enforcement agencies that failed to 701 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:52,080 Speaker 1: protect monuments, memorials, and statues will be subject to withholding 702 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:55,520 Speaker 1: of federal support, and the federal government will ensure personnel 703 00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:58,800 Speaker 1: are available across the nation to assist with the protection 704 00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:04,240 Speaker 1: of federal monuments, memorials, statues, and property. Feorder is unclear 705 00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:09,360 Speaker 1: on how broadly federal jurisdiction extends in the protection of statues. 706 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:13,560 Speaker 1: All in all, dozens of statues were vandalized and destroyed 707 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:15,960 Speaker 1: throughout the country in the first five weeks of the 708 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:19,920 Speaker 1: George Floyd uprisings. The vast majority of these statues were 709 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:23,520 Speaker 1: Confederate monuments in the American South. As of June twenty six, 710 00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:27,359 Speaker 1: only two statues had been targeted by Portland's protests, one 711 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:28,920 Speaker 1: on the steps of a high school and the other 712 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:32,040 Speaker 1: on the private property of the Portland German American Society. 713 00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:36,080 Speaker 1: Both of these were miles from any federal property. However, 714 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:39,400 Speaker 1: under the president's new executive order, Portland would become the 715 00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:42,760 Speaker 1: first city to see the large scale deployment of federal troops. 716 00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:47,040 Speaker 1: The Multnoma County Justice Center, the epicenter of Portland's ongoing protests, 717 00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:50,400 Speaker 1: is flanked on both sides by federal buildings, the Mark O. 718 00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:54,480 Speaker 1: Hatfield court House and the Edith Green Windell Wyatt Federal Building. 719 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:57,680 Speaker 1: A few blocks away, the federal landmark of Pioneer Courthouse 720 00:45:57,760 --> 00:46:01,040 Speaker 1: overlooks Courthouse Square, the site of many of June's large 721 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:04,480 Speaker 1: daytime rallies, as well as many tear gas choked showdowns 722 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:08,719 Speaker 1: between nighttime protesters and PPB riot lines. When Feds were 723 00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:11,000 Speaker 1: sent in, they would be deploying into the center of 724 00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:15,440 Speaker 1: Portland's ongoing protests. On July one, Acting Secretary of the 725 00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:18,840 Speaker 1: Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolfe, put out a statement 726 00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:22,440 Speaker 1: answering the President's call, referring to the executive order he 727 00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:25,320 Speaker 1: had made. The end of that statement read, as we 728 00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:28,520 Speaker 1: approached the July fourth holiday, I have directed the deployment 729 00:46:28,560 --> 00:46:31,600 Speaker 1: and prepositioning of rapid response teams across the country to 730 00:46:31,680 --> 00:46:34,800 Speaker 1: respond to potential threats to facilities and property. While the 731 00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:38,640 Speaker 1: Department respects every American's right to protest peacefully, violence and 732 00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:43,120 Speaker 1: civil unrest will not be tolerated. In the next episode, 733 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:47,000 Speaker 1: we'll hear how Portland protesters and those rapid deployment teams 734 00:46:47,239 --> 00:46:51,040 Speaker 1: met in Portland for the very first time on July fourth. 735 00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:57,160 Speaker 1: Uh or the grand pops who couldn't fathom the obamacist 736 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:00,720 Speaker 1: hate America just to mean she keeps a promise twenty 737 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,240 Speaker 1: teams looking like the sixties. It's crazy, a nationwide deja 738 00:47:04,360 --> 00:47:07,200 Speaker 1: wo what my people post to do go to schools 739 00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:10,239 Speaker 1: named after the clan founder we're around town is I 740 00:47:10,280 --> 00:47:13,400 Speaker 1: don't see why we're frowning Native American students forced to 741 00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:16,759 Speaker 1: learn about wind o'pellah Sarah, How is that fair, bro? 742 00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:21,200 Speaker 1: Some heroes unsung in some monsters get monuments built for them. 743 00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:23,160 Speaker 1: But it ain't be all a little bit of monster. 744 00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:24,000 Speaker 1: We crook it