BLOGTOWN

A Proud Boy wrestles a protester during a Portland clash in 2017. Doug Brown

Here's your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin'!)

• In response to the far-right, white nationalist-aligned Proud Boys coming to Portland on Saturday, Gov. Kate Brown has declared a state emergency, assigning Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to have jurisdiction over the rally. The Portland Police Bureau will work under OSP and MSCO—and all three law enforcement agencies will have the power to use CS gas (or tear gas), despite a recent ban from Mayor Ted Wheeler. (Note: All three agencies include officers who have been chummy and more than accommodating with those in far-right organizations—which is a baaaaaad sign for peaceful protesters showing up to demonstrate against hate. Be careful out there.)

Here's what we know about the Proud Boys rally planned for Portland this Saturday, Sept. 26: https://t.co/6tlXqpxwml
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) September 25, 2020

• To learn more about the Proud Boys, their past visits, and the questionable deference they've received from the Portland Police, check out this very informative story by our Alex Zielinski.

• In this fascinating investigative piece from OPB, it's noted that Oregon has an unlawful paramilitary activity law that would stop weapons-carrying groups like the Proud Boys from causing civil unrest. This was pointed out to Mayor Wheeler as a possible legal response to violent right-wing groups like the Proud Boys... and was promptly ignored.

Gov. Kate Brown and OSP Superintendent Travis Hampton. State of Oregon screenshot

“I am incredibly concerned about the increased risk of violence this weekend," Brown said at a press conference Friday morning. “I need to do everything I can as governor to assure the safety of Oregonians.”

The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist organization with white supremacist ties that has staged violent rallies in Portland before, plans to hold a demonstration in Delta Park on Saturday. Left-wing and antifascist organizers are planning several counter-demonstrations, including one across the street from Delta Park. OSP Superintendent Travis Hampton and Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese will have jurisdiction over Portland for a 48-hour period on Saturday and Sunday, serving as joint incident commanders.

"You will see a massive influx of Oregon State Police troopers beginning tomorrow morning," Hampton said. "They will be saturating North Portland, Interstate 5, between the venues of Delta Park and Peninsula Park, with our colleagues, the Portland Police Bureau and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.”

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at the Supreme Court. Getty images / pool

Here are the headlines.

• Even after being publicly contradicted by Sen. Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders, Donald Trump is doubling down on his refusal to promise a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the November election. I know Trump lies as often as he breathes, but this feels like a situation where we should believe what he's saying and prepare accordingly?

• Meanwhile, another transition in Washington, D.C.:

The casket of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is carried up the steps of the U.S. Capitol, past House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, where she will be the first woman to lie in state. https://t.co/FZh8qHi8MG pic.twitter.com/ESeiEsmSbb
— ABC News (@ABC) September 25, 2020

Louisville cops point weapons at protesters during last night's Breonna Taylor demonstration. Jon Cherry / Getty Images

Here's your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin'!)

• Thirteen Portland protesters were arrested last night during a demonstration in response to the Kentucky grand jury that exonerated the officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor. Federal officers joined Portland Police in using munitions and physical violence to disperse the demonstration.

• Teri Jacobs, an independent photojournalist, is suing the city of Portland and a group of Portland Police officers for injuries sustained while covering a protest last month, including being hit in the face by a police baton. Blair Stenvick has more on this infuriating story.

*Cities with the most reported incidents*

Portland (238)
Minneapolis/St. Paul (106)
Washington, D.C. (48)
New York (45)
Los Angeles (41)
Seattle (22)
Denver (18)
Louisville (18)
Richmond (18)
Detroit (16)
Omaha (16)
— U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (@uspresstracker) September 24, 2020

We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you've come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to the Mercury.

Louisville police arrest 100 protesters following grand jury's refusal to indict the officers who killed Breonna Taylor. Jon Cherry / Getty Images

• In response to a Kentucky grand jury who refused to charge the officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor, protests erupted across the country last night, including Portland. Protesters gathered at the downtown Justice Center where speeches were made, and later a smaller crowd began throwing rocks at the Central Precinct. Police report that three Molotov cocktails were thrown at which point they declared the gathering a "riot" and with the help of federal officers fired munitions and air-borne irritants, while using physical force to push the demonstrators out of the area. Several people were arrested.

Officers firing munitions up the street at protesters . Feels like the old times. pic.twitter.com/1Wq5t64qXW
— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) September 24, 2020

• The Portland Parks Bureau has denied a permit for violent, right-wing, white nationalist group Proud Boys to hold a rally this Saturday at Delta Park. The city says their estimated number of participants exceeds safety mandates during the COVID crisis.

• Reminder: The far-right agitators who planned to commit violence before the Trump caravan debacle in Portland, are doing it again in advance of this weekend's Proud Boy rally. Read this story and then watch the cops, who also have this information, to see who they end up defending.

MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND

On August 18, Jacobs was covering a nightly protest against police brutality and racial injustice near the Multnomah Building on SE Hawthorne Boulevard. While documenting the police action against protesters, Jacobs was pulled by one PPB officer, shoved to the ground, and hit in the head, neck, shoulders, and face with a truncheon, or police baton.

The encounter was captured by another protest attendee and posted to Twitter that night:

Cop 37 shoves woman hitting her from behind in the head with baton, then hits her again in the face with baton while she is sitting on the ground pic.twitter.com/t4phwbWpsK
— John #PortlandProtest (@Johnnthelefty) August 19, 2020

A grand jury refuses to hold officers accountable for the murder of Breonna Taylor. Brandon Bell / Getty Images

Here's your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin'!)

• The Portland Parks Bureau has denied a permit for violent, right-wing, white nationalist group Proud Boys to hold a rally this Saturday at Delta Park. The city says their estimated number of participants exceeds safety mandates during the COVID crisis.

Portland Parks Bureau denies permit for Proud Boys to hold rally at Delta Park, citing coronavirus safeguards https://t.co/uaMh3Q3yWG pic.twitter.com/7eqOl9mjnt

— The Oregonian (@Oregonian) September 23, 2020

• Investigative journalism site Bellingcat has a fascinating/horrifying story about leaked chats from the far right-wing Patriot Coalition of Oregon (often seen at demonstrations alongside Proud Boys) who suggest mass shootings and violent attacks on Portland protesters as well as disguising themselves as Antifa so they can beat journalists and then blame it on members of the left.

Fire wreckage in Mill City, Oregon last week. mathieu Lewis Rolland

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Kate Brown told reporters that three of the 10 major fires spread throughout the state have now calmed enough that the local fire districts are taking control from state authorities in fighting them. The other seven fires are contained between 13 and 38 percent, and Brown said she has “a lot of confidence that we’ve turned the corner.”

As of Wednesday, there are nine confirmed deaths associated with the wildfires, and five people who are missing or unaccounted for. Brown said that “the loss of life has been much less than was expected” for the fires, and credited Oregon’s fire teams with doing “exactly what needed to be done,” despite being “understaffed and under-resourced.”

Doug Grafe, chief of fire prevention with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said that heavy rain over the next three days should further improve conditions, especially in the western part of the state.