June 20th: Directionless Tension

At the Justice Center again! Giant crowd. Gonna live-tweet again, let's see what happens tonight!

No cops visible. The lights are off, like a house on Halloween that ran out of candy#DefendPDX #PortlandProtests #PortlandProtest #RoseCityJustice

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

Organizer warns us to be vigilant. States that we are not alone here and to watch out for those who are against us

"I'm not leading a march tonight. We are staying right here. We aren't leaving tonight"

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

This is definitely a very different vibe. I feel like I say that every night but it's true every night also. The absence of police means there's no natural focal point, and I don't think I'm imagining the uncertainty of the crowd

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

The people who made FENCE WARS appear to be two delightful older people. They told me they're still trying to figure out how to upload to YouTube, but that they're planning on it. First boomer-aged people I've encountered at these protests, I love to see it

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

The crowd has been chanting "black trans lives matter" for about ten minutes, and the reason for this is that black trans lives fucking matter

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

An enormous…explosion? Unclear what just happened

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

More fireworks, farther down 3rd. My guess is bored kids

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

Crowd has settled into chanting. We are saying the names

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020

So um, I went to my car to grab something and someone broke my car window and tossed my shit. I ended up dealing with that so I am, unfortunately, no longer there. Apparently shit got real, please everyone stay safe

— Laura Jedeed is Kind of Back I Guess (@LauraJedeed) June 21, 2020