Portland is still Ground Zero for Donald Trump's War on America. Saturday night his stormtroopers unloaded their ammo on...moms. No lie.
Here is where it started. Moms protesting police brutality showed up to form a human barricade just before dark:
This group, who says they’re moms against police brutality, is making a human barricade at 3rd & Main. pic.twitter.com/k5gJ8Tyt3c
— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
The group and the chain grew as they chanted:
A crowd of about 400 has now occupied both SW 3rd and SW Main.
The moms are chanting, “Feds stay clear! Moms are here!” at the federal courthouse.
All three fences are still up. pic.twitter.com/jhJ09NUxGW— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
Now, the feds have put up fences around the courthouse, around the park in the vicinity of the protesters, and those fences are not to be trifled with, according to preschool teacher and impromptu reporter Lindsey Smith, who tweeted this whole thing in real time.
The fence around the northern park has been dismantled and folks, I’m standing in the park.
If you’re ~new~ here, touching fences has resulted in tear gas, shooting, arrests, and more from police, both federal and local, over the past month and a half. pic.twitter.com/0SxM3Eri8A— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
The Black Bloc is in the house, and they're doing the things that trigger feds, like taking down fences.
The southern park’s fence is down! I can’t stress how dangerous it usually is to mess with the fences. No police out yet, though.
It’s mostly black bloc people dismantling the fences and mostly an older crowd chanting in the streets. ~450 people total.— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
The moms stand between where the stormtroopers are and the rest of the protesters.
The moms are facing the federal courthouse, and the crowd is behind them. The Justice Center, which PPB (and sometimes MCSO) attack from, is also behind them. pic.twitter.com/09nsskEqAh
— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
Things escalate with tension between Black Bloc protesters and the moms and others in the street:
A protester yells, “If you don’t wanna be tear gassed, stop!” at the people taking apart the fence, and someone yells back, “You’ve never even been here!”
And if that doesn’t sum up the dynamic, I don’t know what does!— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
And things keep escalating, but the moms stand firm.
I’m just standing here in a gas mask thinking, “Are they gonna attack these moms?” as antifa teens scamper around me with pieces of fence.
The moms are chanting, “Leave our kids alone!” pic.twitter.com/uAoYkzzorV— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
It's not long before that question is answered:
Feds are out. They shoved the moms. Lots of tear gas and flash bangs. pic.twitter.com/gPsP6ZZnlo
— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
Tear gas used on big crowd. pic.twitter.com/mmWacLSteW
— Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020
If you've been watching the videos, you know that at least one of those moms is pregnant, and I don't want to hear anyone say she shouldn't have been there putting her child in danger. That child will be a United States citizen at the moment he/she is born, and it would be great if that citizenship came with the same rights and responsibilities we've enjoyed up until this fascist regime came into power.
To be clear, the tear gas came later than usual because of the moms' human barricade, but in the end, the feds said, "Fck it, let's just gas them all" and that's exactly what they did.
Here's Trump's fascism, coming soon to a city near you if it hasn't already arrived.
UPDATE: Even more moms turned out last night.
With the new additions, the line of #PortlandMoms is now several moms deep. They are chanting “Moms are here, feds stay clear.” #portland #portlandprotests #portlandprotest #PortlandOregon #PortlandOR #oregon #BLMprotest #PDXprotests #PDX #clypiancoverage pic.twitter.com/XaMO92GpeF
— Clypian (@Clypian) July 20, 2020
