Trump Supporters Meet for Vehicle Rally Outside Portland

Hundreds of people gathered Monday afternoon in a small town south of Portland for a pro-Donald Trump vehicle rally — just more than a week after a member of a far-right group was fatally shot after a Trump caravan went through Oregon’s largest city.

Vehicles waving flags for Trump, the QAnon conspiracy theory and in support of police gathered at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City about noon, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

The rally’s organizers said they would drive to the state capital, Salem, and members of the right-wing groups the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer would be in attendance. Organizers said they did not plan to enter Multnomah County, where Portland is located. Oregon City is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Portland.

On Aug. 29, Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a supporter of Patriot Prayer, was killed in Portland after a pro-Trump caravan went downtown. Trump supporters fired paintballs at counterdemonstrators, who tried to block their way.

Danielson’s suspected killer, Michael Forest Reinoehl, was fatally shot by police Thursday. Reinoehl was a supporter of antifa — shorthand for anti-fascists and an umbrella description for far-left-leaning militant groups.

Demonstrations in Portland started in late May after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis and have continued for more than 100 days.

A fire started outside a police precinct on Portland’s north side resulted in about 15 arrests during protests Sunday night into Monday morning, police said.

Demonstrators protesting police brutality began marching about 9 p.m. Sunday and stopped at the North Precinct Community Policing Center, the site of several volatile protests in recent months.

Officials warned demonstrators against entering the precinct property, saying they would be trespassing and subject to arrest.

Shortly after arriving, the crowd began chanting, among other things, “burn it down,” police said in a statement. Some in the group lit a mattress on fire.

Most of those arrested were from Portland. Others were from San Francisco; Sacramento, California; Mesa, Arizona; and two from Vancouver, Washington.

Charges included interfering with an officer, resisting arrest, reckless burning and possession of a destructive device.

Original Article