Oregon far-right protest moved to location that could allow carrying guns

A far-right protest scheduled for this Saturday in Oregon is being held at a location that could allow attendees to carry handguns, a local news outlet reported.

Joey Gibson, the leader of Patriot Prayer, said in a Facebook post last week that the “Freedom March” rally being organized by the far-right group would take place on Aug. 4 at the Salmon Street Springs water fountain at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Ore. 

{mosads}The location would allow Patriot Prayer to carry guns, The Oregonian reported. Portland prohibits weapons in parks, but guns carried by those with a valid Oregon concealed handgun license are allowed, according to the newspaper.

ThinkProgress, a liberal group, noted that previous protests from the far-right group have taken place across from Portland City Hall at the Terry Schrunk Federal Plaza. 

However, the city of Portland is looking into options to see if there are restrictions that can be placed, Portland police spokesperson Sgt. Pete Simpson said, according to The Oregonian. 

In the Facebook post, Gibson said more information regarding the event would be posted. The post said “armed security” would be provided to attendees.

“[We’re going to Portland] to exercise our First Amendment right,” Gibson said on Facebook in a video. “We go there to stand up for the Constitution. We go there to bring light into a city that does not respect people who are different, while they run around and say that we’re bigots.”

Many groups have already indicated they would be counterprotesting the Patriot Prayer rally this Saturday, according to ThinkProgress. One group said it would make “no apologies for the use of force in keeping our communities safe from the scourge of right wing violence,” according to the group. 

The rally this Saturday will come only about a month after members of Patriot Prayer and self-described anti-fascist counterprotesters clashed in Portland in what police described as a riot. 

The Patriot Prayer group had a permit for their rally, but police revoked the permit after the riot began.