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People try to chant the names and a subdued drumline beats in time The drums are important. Fear creeps into silent spaces
The drum line now as raucus as it was before the speech. People chanting "black lives matter" and "abolish the police state" A horn plays along. It's as close to a concert as it gets in this age of Covid I ponder risking wiping the inside of my goggles
The instant I take off my goggles I see a protester inside the fence and hear a barrage of pepper balls. I get lucky: no hit, no residue The drumline doesn't even stop. This is its function: Music to tell our hearts it's ok; chanting to tell our souls that we are not alone
A few more random barrages. @hungrybowtie and I discuss timing and predictions. Sure seems like they're trying to provoke us into doing something newsworthy
They're out and they're gassing. Rather than give protesters a chance to throw canisters back at them, they now gas themselves and use leaf blowers to propel it towards uspic.twitter.com/Ba4sHTEaXr
They're back under cover now, firing pepper balls and warning us in tones too soft to hear; a lullaby that promises nightmares I finally make out the announcement: unlawful assembly declared
Maybe you're wondering why an unlawful assembly has been declared. If so, you're probably new here. An unlawful assembly means nothing except that the police plan to use violence. Anything I could point to that's happening now has happened on nights not declared unlawful
Peaceful protesters asked to leave East on Salmon and Main Peaceful protesters largely elect to remain and exercise their inalienable human right to free assembly instead
The Federal Protective Service cheerfully complains over the LRAD that "officers are being hit with projectiles, lasers, and other hard objects" I've got nothing, y'all
They're out and gassing hard. So hard. Firing high. I see two people get hit and go down hard. Protesters drag them to the sidewalk
Gas and casualties https://defendpdx.com/footage/Feds-in-Portland-DHS-Fakes-an-Injury.mp4 …pic.twitter.com/N1EWZt2hKP
They retreat again. Protesters back to the front, banging on the fence The LRAD warns of unlawful assembly and I swear he sounds cheerful. This is going to be an ugly night and if I said I wasn't a bit sccared I'd be lying. My body remembers what happened to it last Saturday
They've gone silent for now. People mill, brace thenselves: whatever Part of the line chants "I don't see no riot here, take off your riot gear!"
Feds back out, gassing 3rd and Main
A battle of the leaf blowers commences. I can't get good footage: they're shining spotlights directly into our faces, making it impossible to record the things they're doing
Very few people at the fence now: moms, shield bearers, and one guy who gives zero fucks
#DefendPDX #blacklivesmatter
#portland #oregon #blm #acab #PortlandProtest #PDXprotest #Feds #MomsAreHere #police #FedsGoHomepic.twitter.com/2Ai669iEiL
We've got a fed line at 3rd and Salmon. Another line comes up as I type this. Both sides Is it finally a kettle? Is this the night it happens?pic.twitter.com/JzyYhNGsOJ
Looks like it. Cops in the park also. There's nowhere to go This might be itpic.twitter.com/SSFtUUOVlh
The trumpeter plays the Sad Trombone sound and it's the funniest shit I've ever heard
Weird things are happening. The police line closes on us and then melts away. No arrests. Main street gassed. We're trapped but unhar.ed These menacing fellows begin to walk down Main towards 2ndpic.twitter.com/FjZBXs1aYV
2nd and main gassed. They just stand there watching They are communicating without words. They could hurt us if they wanted to. Arrest us if they wanted to. Aren't we lucky they don't seem to want to? Yet?pic.twitter.com/bxv3Yja5jy
Here's a close-up of these boys from earlier
#DefendPDX #blacklivesmatter #portland #oregon #blm #acab #PortlandProtest #PDXprotest #Feds #MomsAreHere #police #FedsGoHomepic.twitter.com/xawadmmzcG
There are so many of them and I don't understand what they're doing other than I guess showing forcepic.twitter.com/n90iPuTxYQ
There's more press than protesters here at this point so I make my way back to the District Courthouse A small group has returned, mostly the Moms "Stay tight!" one of the mom activists screams over and over, trying to get the chant going Feds inside the fence, facing off
One of the moms, who is black, is giving these fuckers the lecture of a lifetime They answer with silence punctuated by occasional pepper balls
These fellows inside the fence look different from people we've seen here before This thing about the Feds going home? Kinda feels like the opposite. It's a fucking Baskin Robbins around here: we've got 32 flavors of feds and then somepic.twitter.com/xmldeyCwFH
A commotion at 2nd and Salmon . Gas deployed. By the time I get there the protesters are elated. "Yeah, get back in your hole!!" I guess they must have done their " pop smoke" trick They're off to 2nd and Main, where DHS boys await. I like the spirit of this group
Sorry this is out of order, things are a bit tense We were driven back from 2nd and Salmon. At 3rd and Salmon, we found a larger group of feds engaging a letter group of protesters Here's a video from 2nd and Salmonpic.twitter.com/F9HMGvaF3F
Currently a standoff at 3rd and Salmon, with the feds between the protesters and the courthouse "What are you? Blackwater?!" "Dear mom, I'm so proud. Today I went to Portland and fucked up a bunch of hippies"
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