Credit: Gabriel Green
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Doug Brown

For the second time in the very short period Donald Trump has been president-elect, protestors headed to Interstate 5 this evening. And in an exceedingly rare instance befitting this batshit crazy week, the cops even helped.

While as many as two thousand protestors marched from Pioneer Courthouse Square this evening, stopped in front of City Hall, then made their way to the Morrison Bridge and the interstate, police quietly shut down I-5 in preparation. The police bureau announced the closure shortly before marchers—shouting lots of things, but mostly “Not my president!” or “Fuck Donald Trump!”—wound their way toward the highway.

This simply doesn’t happen. In the years that protestors, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, have been regularly marching to the streets, Portland police have most often stopped at nothing to prevent crowds from entering I-5. Typically that involves tense standoffs with riot cops.

But as Portland leaders like Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Amanda Fritz made plain their absolute anguish over Trump’s victory today, officials appear to have taken a more permissive stand.

In an unexpected twist? The marchers simply passed the interstate, opting instead for Southeast Grand, then up to the Moda Center.

UPDATE, 6:38 pm: Until they didn’t. After chanting outside of the sports stadium—someone spraypainted “impeach” on the wall—the protestors headed back to I-5 and shut it down, as cops maintained their light touch. It lead to some tense interactions between marchers and commuters, including at least one car speeding off after a confrontation.

The drama played out as people in cities around the country demonstrated against Trump’s surprise victory on Tuesday. Five people were shot near an anti-Trump march in Seattle.
(Update: It has since become clear that the shooting and march were unrelated.)

UPDATE, 7:09: In an interview with KGW, police bureau spokesperson Sgt. Pete Simpson said the cops’ dramatically light touch had to do with the immensity of the crowd.

“This size of a crowd is going to do what it wants for as long as it wants,” Simpson said. “There is no way to remove 2,000 people who don’t want to be moved. We’re asking for patience from people.”

With marchers still shutting down the West Coast’s main artery, Simpson said cops were monitoring things, and that the lack of violence was a factor in cops’ decision not to intercede. Plus, he said, they don’t have the resources.

“In situations like this is [removing people] may involve using force that would otherwise be unnecessary,” Simpson said.

Protestors rewarded cops for their restraint not long afterward, heading back over the Morrison Bridge and into downtown.

UPDATE, 7:34 pm: The protest began dispersing around 7:30 . Marchers made their way back to Chapman Square—epicenter of the Occupy Portland movement—and began to thin, with calls to meet tomorrow. A smaller contingent of marchers stayed on to march through the streets.

The Mercury wound up having our own chat with the PPB spokesman Simpson while that was happening. We wanted to know if it was just numbers that caused the police restraint tonight, or if there was an element of the fraught political moment at play. Simpson said there was.

“This is a national issue—maybe an international issue—in a lot of cities,” he said. “We are factoring in the fact that this is a highly charged time.”

Simpson clarified that the PPB worked with the Oregon Department of Transportation to shut down I-5 before protestors got there, saying “we wanted to be ahead of the game.” He said Commander Chris Davis, who oversees the bureau’s Central Precinct, was running the police response to the protest, while also keeping Chief Mike Marshman apprised.

Simpson also mentioned that cops think this might just be how things are now that Trump has won the White House. He wondered how frequently similar demonstrations will pop up in coming weeks.

“We’re already thinking ahead to inauguration,” he said.

Update, 9:05 pm: At around 8:30 pm, protestors decided to conquer Portland’s other freeway, shutting down I-84, probably making this the most ambitious (if you want to call it that) march this city’s seen in a long, long time.

Cops were not prepared this time, but as of this writing, it appears they’ve left the highway.

Original post:

The largely peaceful march has proven a marked difference from the protest’s early moments, in which protestors and Trump supporters sometimes nearly came to blows in Pioneer Square.

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Doug Brown
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Doug Brown
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Doug Brown

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I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

8 replies on “Cops Helped A Massive Anti-Trump Protest Shut Down I-5 on Wednesday”

  1. It is our right. It accomplishes being an American and exercising the right to peacefully protest. It will continue. It will grow. Just wait. We aren’t going to lie down and take it. This is just the beginning.

  2. Perhaps this will lead to a conversation about Electoral College vs the Popular Vote. Personally, I’m ready to remove the Electoral College.

  4. Hope none of you Trumpanzees have elderly or disabled family. Their Social Security and Medicare (as well as Medicaid) will be the first things to go. Employed by a hospital, or medical organization? Sorry. Medicare funded that. Any Doctors or Nurses in your ranks? Ever NEED one? Yeah, gone, since not only the pay, but a good chunk of the education for those jobs is provided by Medicare. I guess you can take consolation in the fact that Pence plans to do away with any laws that don’t fit the Evangelical agenda, so you can always go to a faith healer.
    39% of Americans are employed by hospitals. Your Cheeto Lord is going to “create all Teh Jobz”? Okay.

  5. Burning flags!! Being violent!!! Screaming profanities!!! Tagging public property with foul anti America sayings!!! Refusing to allow other people’s right to an opinion!!! Supporting communism!!! Yeaaaaa Trumps the bad guy… Idiots and hypocrites! Why does no one speak up about Bill Clinton sexually harassing and assaulting women and using his power to do it and get away with it, screwing a young intern with a cigar!! Yet you have no problem voting for his wife who obviously condones his behavior by staying with him…Hypocrites!!
    We need to rally for Trump and get out to these protests to show support and back up our right to vote!
    If you burn a flag it’s illegal and our police need to arrest these people, if they hate America then they should leave or someone should make them!
    There’s a huge difference between protesting and the rioting that’s going on now.
    How embarrassing you all are for us real Americans!

  6. How ridiculous. Let’s take a breather and see how this actually plays out. The silly crap that one has to say to wind the GOP primary is one thing, actual policies and action is another. Let’s not forget that Trump used to be a democrat, and actually has publicly stated that his core beliefs are pretty middle of the road. I think his fans who flocked to him based on the “wall” comments, or anti muslim terrorist comments, etc. etc. are going to be pretty dissapointed.

  7. Wow so many got off WORK early?? Oh, wait, these people were obviously NOT in the WORK commute.
    So, pissing off and inconveniencing THOUSANDS is going to build sympathy for your “Cause” (see also, sore loser complaining)?
    So causing more WORK for the middle class blue collar workers that have to take time to clean your mess, litter, VANDALISM is going to HELP??

    F*** you selfish little shits. I am NOT a Trump supporter, but you know what I DO support, my fellow commuters being able to get home as smoothly and safely as they can, not causing people to miss dinner or be charged late fees at day care etc.
    Trump won, you are OBVIOUSLY outnumbered in your OPINIONS of who should have won, now get over it and go back to WORK like the rest of us. Or in most cases , go back to your school “safe zones” and wheep where no one will say anything to make you SAD.

  8. These people are protesting the the wrong target. They need to be protesting The Democratic National Committee and the liberal media outlets like The Washington Post. Maybe they’ll get around to it eventually. If you wanna be mad, be mad at the ones who REALLY took away your chance!
    #portlandprotests

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