September 4th: Mass Arrests at the PPA

Originally tweeted by Laura Jedeed (Misanthrophile) (@1misanthrophile) on September 5, 2020.

Hi there, it’s Friday and I’m at Kenton Park along with probably 200 protesters. Music faintly plays. The crowd relaxes, for now

Let’s see what Night 99 brings

#PortlandProtests #PortlandRiots #PortlandProtest #BlackLivesMatter    #PoliceBrutality #DefendPDX

Looks like the police are gathering also:

Riot cops already posted up at PPA . I’d recommend the comrades to go up fenwick

Originally tweeted by Mr. Jelly (@F8thInStrangers) on September 5, 2020.

I have finally attained my very own squeeky pig. My life is complete

Robust support here tonight. PDX Resistance Assistance serving ribs. Zine station. Snack Bloc with the necessities. NLG and medics sharing a tent

Lotta block tonight. Good numbers

A facilitator gets on the megaphone and discusses the now-common knowledge that the police are waiting for the group, in force, at the PPA

What to do?

Plans are discussed

An activist talks about tomorrow’s events: two sit-ins, a car caravan, and a direct action march

It’s gonna be a big day

I overhear some protesters talk about worries of the far right showing up. They’ve certainly been threatening it

A new (to me) fighter enters the arena!

“We Got Us”

If I were a cop, I would want to arrest as many people tonight as I could. Deterrance for Night 100 festivities tomorrow

Hopefully I’m wrong about that but my prediction is a high number tonight

The protest arrives at the Portland Police Association building

DJ LRAD immediately orders the 200+ person protest to move to the sidewalk

DJ LRAD stresses that direction to move onto the sidewalk applies to press and legal observers as well as protesters

It orders the car portion of the protest to move or be towed

Boy howdy it’s a lot of riot cops tonight

The activist on the megaphone reminds the crowd that they will rush. To be prepared. To pick up the megaphone if he goes silent and keep this going

A chant for Daniel Prude, the man asphyxiated by Rochester police. The coroner ruled homicide, but the police reported an overdose

The officers were suspended…but only after it became a national news story

Think about how many cases just like this one that we don’t know about

A white car speeds through the crowd. No injuries

DJ LRAD commands protesters to move out of their road for their own safety. “Vehicles may not stop for you. This endangers your own lives”

Sure sounds like a threat to me

The threat is not having it’s intended effect. The crowd advances forward, still keeping its distance, very much occupying the road

Chant: “We Outnumber You!”

Followed by my least favorite chant:

“Show me what democracy looks like!”
“This is what democracy looks like”

But before I can even begin my customary rant someone corrects it:

“Show me what a police state looks like!
“This is what a police state looks like!”

Yes

Editorial comment here

The protest is doing what it’s done for 99 days. It’s standing in front of the police, waiting for them to do something

For the last 1.5 weeks, “something” has been mass arrests

It might be time to try something else

The Black activist on the megaphone says:

“Unless we stand up, they’re gonna keep killing us in the streets. That’s why we’re out here tonight!

“If these cops think we’re gonna give up, they have another thing coming! We’re going to be here every day! Every day! Every day!”

DJ LRAD keeps repeating his warning, including the part about press and legal observers. Trumpet Guy and @SoundBlocPDX drown them out. Piggies squeek in hundreds of pockets

Protesters very much in the street. Press and legal observers as well

Standoff continues

An absolutely epic sign here:

The crowd parts to allow an enormous truck through. He honks his support

Like most protests, this one moves to let vehicles through. The “blocking traffic” charge is as false tonight as it usually is

Mac Smiff gets on the mic

“Shit’s getting crazy out here. People have died. This is a budget issue, folks! This is a budget issue and y’all over there looking like storm troopers”

Smiff is talking about last Saturday’s car caravan. About how the cops allowed 600 pickup trucks to snarl traffic in Portland and threaten lives

“We don’t want destruction! We don’t want this shit destroyed! We want your shit destroyed, we want you to go home!”

“I will go home when the police are defunded! Tell Ted Wheeler we will go home when you go home and don’t come back!”

Some evening music: trumpet guy and freestyle

Everything about the same out here

I’m standing a ways back so I’m not 100% sure what happened but there are some VERY bright spotlights shining from the PPA guards suddenly, and chants of “shame!”

I’m standing back here to try and get footage when they rush but that doesn’t help for whatever’s going on right now

DJ LRAD sounding off again. Claims of projectiles thrown

I have seen some balloons bounced around the crowd, maybe that’s what they’re talking about

And we have an unlawful assembly declaration. We are to move West

“this is the second use of force warning! This is the second warning that tear gas may be used!”

It is definitely mask time y’all

Cops charge and conduct mass arrests–I’d estimate around 10. Drive protesters back with what seemed to me to be smoke and not gas

Cops retreat to the PPA. Look at all of them

(Arrest footage incoming)

A brutal arrest. It’s worse with sound on

#PortlandProtesters #Police #PoliceViolence #PoliceBrutality #BlackLivesMatter

Mass arrests

#PortlandProtesters #Police #PoliceViolence #PoliceBrutality #BlackLivesMatter

As I uploaded this, another push down Lombard. More arrests. Footage incoming

They appear to be retreating, we’ll see

Back at the PPA. I’ll try to upload some footage real quick

No time to upload footage. Here’s what just happened:

-Another mini-rush, one arrest
-a guy on a bicycle apparently started swinging a hammer at people. The police apparently helped him on his bike and let him go. I caught only the end of this incident

Please be aware: they are grabbing people seemingly at random. People on the sidewalk. Anyone slow

If you are out here you are at risk

Hammer bike guy is back. He does not appear to be doing particularly well in life. I think he’s having a bad time

The officers allow him to walk away down the street, then immediately threaten a protester with jail for the exact same thing

Two arrests from earlier

#PortlandProtesters #Police #PoliceViolence #PoliceBrutality #BlackLivesMatter

Another arrest. notice how they went for the person who immediately complied, jerked him to his feet so they could throw him down again

#PortlandProtesters #Police #PoliceViolence #PoliceBrutality #BlackLivesMatter

As I uploaded that last, cops charged and arrested medics in a truck in the Chevron parking lot. Then they pushed press back so they couldn’t video

Then they arrested someone in the Heavenly Donuts parking lot and made a line all the way across the street so no one could film

Medic truck arrest

#PortlandProtesters #Police #PoliceViolence #PoliceBrutality #BlackLivesMatter

“back up, back up, we want freedom, freedom; all these racist-ass cops we don’t need ’em, need ’em”

As I type this, they begin to retreat back to the PPA

Copa retreat, respond to a thrown water bottle with launched smoke canisters. All my footage has faces in it :/

Back to the PPA

Another massive rush and more mass arrests. I didn’t get any good footage but I think @45thabsurdist did. Jesus they’re fast. Vicious and determined

I didn’t want to be right about the high arrest numbers, I really didn’t

They keep talking about “targeted arrests,” which seems to mean “targeting whoever’s easiest to catch.”

Getting reports that they’re doing that thing again where they arrest everyone in an area who isn’t press

Back at the PPA, where the cop line and the protest have both thinned considerably

There’s an extremely small group of protesters and they’re all heckling the cops

“Cops don’t know where Wyoming is!”
“Cops use Netscape Navigator!”
“Cops liked the Star Wars prequels!”

Cop line has retreated. I think the night is winding down

I’m back at my car and heading home. Wow that was a lot of arrests

Solidarity with everyone still out here!