August 30th: “You! Not Press! You’re Under Arrest!”

Originally tweeted by Laura Jedeed (Misanthrophile) (@1misanthrophile) on August 30th, 2020.

Hi there, coming at you from Laurelhurst park where maybe 150 protesters are getting ready to march

Oh boy. Let’s see what happens

Like the Kaiser Chiefs in the early 2000s, I predict a riot

I predict this no matter what the protest does. National attention is on us. The police have a chance to really drive home that “violent anarchist” narrative tonight, and I expect them to lean into it hard

A very good banner:

The moon is beautiful tonight

“I heard,” a friend wrote me recently, “that if you stand atop Mount Hood and gaze down at Portland under the full moon, you can see the fabric of the nation tearing itself apart”

I will never forgive him for writing something so perfect

Spotlights await us at the MSCO

Immediately, DJ LRAD crackles painfully to life. He warns the protest not to trespass, or else tear gas and other impact munitions etc

No one has trespassed so far. No visible cops

Crowd chants: “No good cops in a racist system!” Really keeping their distance from the MSCO tonight. Absolutely nothing thrown that I’ve seen

Nonetheless, DJ LRAD repeats his announcement

He adds that Burnside remains open to traffic and demands that the protest move to the sidewalk

This is what they do when they absolutely need to fuck everyone up and no one is offering any pretext. 90% of the time, blocking the road isn’t mentioned

He’s repeating the message about every 30 seconds

This shows all the signs of getting as ugly as I expected/feared. Probably mask time

Interesting. Someone has set a carton full of eggs onto the sidewalk but no one has thrown a single one

I’ll leave the speculation as to why someone might leave eggs sitting around on a night when the police are trying to find a pretext for fucking us up to others

Umbrella Bloc:

An announcement that projectiles have been observed

Not observed by me, but OK

(Egg carton still full if you’re curious)

Spotlight moving over the crowd

Ok, I just saw an egg thrown It splatters maybe 50 feet from the police cars

Your reminder that eggs are 100% biodegradable and wash away in the rain

Projectile warning repeated

“You’re severely underestimating the level of Portland’s oppositional defiance, sir!”

I’ve finally adjusted the gas mask @OccupiedSeattle kindly gave me so that it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to crack my skull open, which is amazing

Also, shout-out once again to @JFlorencePDX for loaning me their plate for the last…really long time. This community is amazing

A disturbing look at the street violence Portland Police has to deal with every night:

This person I keep quoting saying the funny shit? Apparently a livestreamer and you should maybe check them out because they have me absolutely dying: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10159012467407755&id=552267754…

@Cascadianphotog also rocking the live-streaming game tonight

Riot line forming up east of the MSCO

@Cascadianphotog tells me they aren’t masked up. I AM masked up, which means I’m not wearing my glasses, which means I’ll take their word for it

“No Borders! No Nations! Abolish Deportation!”

The chant moves seamlessly into the recitation of the names. George Floyd. Brionna Taylor. Patrick Kimmons. TeTe Gully. Jacob Blake. Sandra Bland

@R3volutionDaddy also out here streaming! I’m probably missing a ton of awesome people as well)

Things continuing about the same out here. Police threatening the usual. Protesters chanting. Spotlights shining on the crowd

Oh cool, DJ LRAD declares an unlawful assembly due to projectiles (a few eggs) and “blocking the street” If these motherfuckers could exceed my expectations even once it would be so nice. This is seriously the most mellow crowd I’ve seen in weeks

Anyone want to take bets on how quick they declare a riot for no reason? Reply with your predictions and win a fabulous prize!!

(The prize probably won’t be fabulous)

The police charge and arrest so many people: people on the sidewalk, anyone not press. Footage incoming

The police have just retreated back into the MSCO while firing pepper balls Pepper balls? It smells like baby powder. Weird

Police arrest someone and punch him in the face. Multiple times:

Another arrest of a protester standing on the sidewalk with a shield. Signaled out from across the street

“You! You’re going to jail. Not press.”

Just snatching people up left and right:

My other footage of arrests has a ton of faces so it’s gonna have to wait until tomorrow but holy shit. Just grabbing unresisting protesters and pulling them to the vans

I’m sure the arrest numbers will look very impressive in tomorrow’s papers

Currently the protest is standing in the intersection of 17th and Burnside. Cops circling. Trying to figure out which way they’re coming

Someone is playing Les Miz and I don’t hate it

Something occurred to me as the cops kept yelling “You! Not press! Going to jail!” Sure seems like a good way to get people who aren’t press to dress up as press

Seems like a great way to advance the fake press narrative.

But what do I know?

You really shouldn’t trust my takes though. After all, this is Twitter

And as @ChiefCLovell reminded everyone today, a lot of people on Twitter are just jumping to conclusions in their basements

(Convenient how that leaves only the police as a trustworthy source

A riot van loaded with cops departs the MSCO and drives East, away from the protesters

That’s all I know. I assume they’re forming a riot line somewhere

“Make a hole!” Protesters move out of the way and a bus easily navigates the “blocked” street

DJ LRAD makes an abrupt return. Reminds everyone that this is an unlawful assembly due to “criminal activity” like blocking the street. The usual threat of tear gas

Sigh

We’re probably about to get pushed

The LRAD orders the medical truck that’s been handing out water and other provisions to get our of the crosswalk

As a journalist I can neither confirm nor deny that Brent Taylor #12 is standing in the shadows clutching his tire popper, fully erect

Riot cops push and conduct multiple arrests again. I don’t have any good footage. Same shit as last time. Grabbing everyone they can

They push to 45th, pause, then retreat Protesters advance back up the street “Stay together, stay tight! We do this every night!”

Back at 47th and Burnside. Loud chant: “No Justice, No Peace!”

I don’t know how many people have been arrested tonight but it is a LOT

Riot cops charge protesters

Police start kettling and arresting protesters in the Wajan parking lot while a protester next to me asks some very good questions about what the fuck is going on

Seems like things are dying down here. Most of the people left are press and medics I’m calling it. Gonna pack it in

Solidarity to everyone still out here!