A fight between two women—one, a far-right activist participating in a demonstration on a highway overpass, and another, a person critical of the demonstration's far-right organizers—resulted in no arrests Sunday afternoon.
The clash took place at a small event organized by members of the Proud Boys, a national far-right group whose rallies regularly attract white nationalists, where a dozen people waved American flags from an I-84 overpass on SE 12. Shortly after the event began at 2 pm, an unidentified woman unaffiliated with the demonstrators approached the group, and a physical fight broke out between her and another woman (who's since been identified as Rachel Cronk).
Bits of video taken during the fight show well-known Proud Boy supporter and professional MMA fighter Tara LaRosa pinning the woman to the ground as others call 911. A livestream video taken by LaRosa herself (stuffed into her pocket when she injects herself into the fight) captures audio of the incident. When the woman pinned under LaRosa says "I can't breathe," LaRosa responds, "I don't care."
LaRosa later tells police on video that the woman approached them saying "fuck Proud Boys" and that, after the fight broke out between her and Cronk, LaRosa "grabbed hold of [the woman] and put a clench on her." LaRosa says the woman bit her chest while she held her down.
Another video depicting the beginning of the fight shows the woman standing with her hands in her pockets speaking with the demonstrators. Someone then points the tip of small flag near the woman's face and calls her a "bitch." The woman swats the flag away from her face, grabbing it in the process—and someone standing outside of the camera frame punches her in the face. It's not clear if Cronk was the person who threw the punch.
According to Portland Police Bureau (PPB) spokesperson Kevin Allen, the women sustained minor injuries and didn't request help from paramedics. No one was arrested.
"No arrests were made but the case will be referred to the District Attorney’s office to see if charges are appropriate," said Allen.
