Oregon
Related: About this forumMan pulls gun at Don't Shoot PDX protesting US police shootings
A man pulled a gun near hundreds of people taking part in a Don't Shoot PDX protest Thursday evening and was later taken into custody by law enforcement officers in tactical gear.
Michael Strickland, 36, is facing misdemeanor menacing and second-degree disorderly conduct charges, according to jail records. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center late Thursday night, jail records show.
Strickland will be arraigned Friday, Portland police said in a news release. Police identified Strickland as the man allegedly menacing people with a gun.
The man explained his actions to The Oregonian/OregonLive by saying he was surrounded by "anarchists" who were pushing him and telling him he needed to go. He identified the gun as a Glock.
Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/07/dont_shoot_pdx_protesting_poli.html
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)bluedye33139
(1,474 posts)Portland once housed the largest urban white supremacist community in North America, with ties to North Idaho's Aryan faction and other "anarchist" white supremacist enclaves. Oregon itself had the largest number of KKK members at the height of the organization's membership. Not surprising that white people there are unkind to BLM-related protests.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)It's certainly true that Oregon has a racist history.
Modern Portland, though, is a very progressive city. As a matter of fact, I was just there a few days ago, not far from where this protest occurred, sitting in a very diverse crowd of about 15,000 people Monday night, all enjoying coming together.
It doesn't surprise me that people in Portland organized a protest of the recent murders by cops. It's typical. The lone nutjob present does not represent the majority.
bluedye33139
(1,474 posts)I'm not claiming that all Oregonians are racist, but I do not believe it is an error to point to its massive skinhead/racist subculture during the 80s and 90s, nor am I wrong about the fact that Oregon was the state with the largest KKK population during the heights of that group's popularity.
Rose City Antifascist (Rose City Antifa) continues to work against the racist subculture and to shine light onto their evil activities. But if my post seemed to claim that Portland OR currently is the principle racist enclave in the United States, that was not my intention.