Clashes break out between opposing protest groups in Portland

A pair of opposing protest groups clashed in Portland on Saturday in what police described as a riot.

Local CBS-affiliate KOIN reported that the rightwing group Patriot Prayer and members of the self-described anti-fascist Antifa group clashed in downtown Portland, with participants lighting firecrackers and smoke bombs.

The Patriot Prayer group had a permit for their “freedom rally,” but police revoked the permit after the riot began. An organizer of the protest criticized the police for “allowing” the antifa protesters “to charge us when we have a permit,” according to KOIN.

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A Facebook group purporting to be “Eugene Antifa” created an event ahead of the rally calling for group members to “keep up the pressure” on Patriot Prayer, calling the rightwing group’s event “a pretext for assorted Alt Right bullies, Nazis, homophobes, and unsavory characters to gather in hopes of brutalizing the most vulnerable people they can find.”

More than 100 members of each group gathered for the competing rallies, according to CBS News.

Police were dressed in riot gear ahead of the march, according to KOIN. Portland Police tweeted that they used aerial distractions, such as pepper spray, to disperse the riot, and denied reports that they used tear gas. Police also said they made probable cause arrests and seized weapons.

Four people were arrested during the events in connection with investigations already in place.

The clash was similar to one that broke out during competing protests between the same two groups earlier this month.

The protests came on the same day that thousands of people nationwide marched to protest President Trump’s immigration policies.

While the Patriot Prayer and Antifa groups were not protesting in conjunction with those marches, at least one participant told KOIN that they showed up to counter-protest Patriot Prayer over their concerns about the Trump administration’s immigration policies.