Oregon residents marked President Joe Biden’s first day in office on Wednesday with celebrations and protests from the nation’s 46th president.
The fear of armed riots in the capital of Oregon never materialized amid increased police presence and the fortification of buildings, including the Capitol.
Even so, the protests continued to take place on Wednesday night in Portland, while protesters were pushing for political changes faster than what Biden promised.
On Wednesday night, a crowd of at least 100 people gathered at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in South Portland, with plans to march to a facility near Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Around 9 pm, the crowd began to move, shouting protest slogans against the detention and imprisonment of migrant children in the United States. Protesters also denounced Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and President Joe Biden and shouted, “Abolish ICE”. Upon arriving at the building, several people painted “Bring families together now” on the wall of the ICE building.
The meeting was declared an illegal assembly at around 9:30 am and the crowd was informed that those who invaded federal property with weapons or “other dangerous items” would be arrested. Federal officials used tear gas and ammunition several times; at one point, the air was so thick with gas and smoke that it was difficult to see. Until 10 pm, Portland police arrested at least one person.
Earlier Wednesday, a crowd of about 200 people, including those calling themselves anarchists, marched in the city’s Central Eastside area and smashed the windows of Oregon’s Democratic Party headquarters. Some of the protesters carried a sign that said “We don’t want Biden, we want revenge!” in response to “police killings” and “imperialist wars”. Portland police said they arrested eight people.
The Democratic Party issued a statement expressing the group’s disappointment at the damage to its headquarters.
“None of this should undermine the fact that today is a happy day for America,” the group said in its statement.
Governor Kate Brown called the inauguration of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “a new chapter for our country” and praised the various nominees for the new government cabinet, as well as Harris’ historic role as the first vice president black and asian.
Some demonstrations in Portland also took on a more commemorative tone. On northeast Broadway, from avenues 14 to 15, about a dozen people held signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. The midday crowd was greeted with almost constant horns of approval – the only interruptions were when the street lights turned red.
Betty Scholten, 86, said she has been demonstrating there almost daily since August, always holding the same Black Lives Matter sign. She said she feels happy and hopeful because she hopes that equal rights for blacks will be another focus for Biden and his government. “I have hope,” she said. “He said it would be.”
Still, she acknowledges that the change will not happen overnight – even under a new administration that she said is a step in the right direction.
Scholten said she and others will continue to demonstrate along Broadway “until it is no longer needed”.
Still, she thinks that day “is a long way to go”.
PORTLAND CELEBRATIONS
Many Oregon residents applauded both Biden’s inauguration and Trump’s departure from power, while making it clear that they would continue to pressure the new government to make major reforms.
A caravan of “Inaugurated Justice” caravans started on the Cascade campus at Portland Community College on Wednesday afternoon and went on to Irving Park on Northeast Fremont Street and 10th Avenue, for a demonstration and planned march by groups including the Defend Democracy Coalition.
About 150 people, including volunteers and the media, attended the event at around 5 pm.
When the event started, people shouted messages in support of the Black Lives Matter and a drums played, celebrating the day and calling for more progressive changes.
“This is such a monumental day,” a speaker told the crowd. “Because today is the day that we will drop Trump. But we also need to embrace resistance. The fight is just beginning ”.
One of the event’s organizers, Ray Austin, called for the total abolition of the police.
A veteran who introduced himself as “Don of Vietnam” told the crowd that the people who revolted at the National Capitol on January 6 represented a regressive way of thinking.
Suzie Kassouf, an educator at Grant High School and founder of the climate justice organization Sunrise PDX, asked the crowd if they thought Biden wanted to see a rapid movement for climate justice – to which they answered “no”.
“All movements for justice are one,” she said. “It is no accident that the people who are the first and most affected by the climate crisis and environmental injustice are black and brown.”
Destiny Houston, one of the organizers, said the purpose of the rally is to focus on various issues on the progressive agenda, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, immigration and climate change.
“We really hope that on Induction Day we will be able to celebrate the new administration, while making it clear that we will hold them accountable,” said Houston.
As the speakers addressed the crowd, a car overturned about a block away. Several protesters gathered around the car to see if anyone was injured, and the protesters pulled a girl and her mother out of the car before the fire department arrived. None of them were seriously injured.
The Fremont Street car accident, within earshot of the Irving Park event, highlighted tensions between protesters and law enforcement officials. Protesters who rushed to help the family who overturned their car were adamant about not wanting the police to respond, saying they do more harm by being present. Protesters at the event asked the police for help.
“It doesn’t matter if we believe in ‘Black Lives Matter’, if we see something that needs to be done, we must act,” said Reese Monson, 31, a member of the local protest group Black Unity PDX. “We are happy that the fire truck came instead of the police. We really don’t like the police to come and get involved. The last time the police came, they brought a large can of tear gas to an individual who was mentally ill. “
Monson said he thought the driver was trying to avoid running over a car that was passing through the opposite lane of traffic, swerved to a car parked on the street and rolled over.
PROTESTS AND POLICE
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Earlier in the day, a crowd gathered at the Southeast Portland Revolution Hall on Wednesday for “J20”, an event condemning the government, including Biden’s presidency, and focused on several calls for justice, including reform policing and improving education and social assistance. A poster of the event called “Land Back” – movement to return land to indigenous peoples.
The event, which had about 200 people at its peak, was described as a “direct action” march, a term that in recent months described demonstrations that culminated in material damage, such as broken glass or graffiti.
Soon after the event began, about a dozen police officers on bicycles appeared and began questioning the protesters, adding to the tension.
As protesters headed for the river, they shouted, calling for an end to sweeps in the homeless camps and condemning Biden and former President Donald Trump. They ended up at Oregon Democratic Party headquarters, where some windows broke. The protesters were met by the police at Benson High School. The mayor’s office confirmed that, as of 4 pm, police arrested three people suspected of using crowbar to break the windows of Oregon Democratic Party headquarters.
Before the crowd started marching out of the hall, some protesters reflected on why they were at the event.
Two Black Unity PDX protesters said the new administration has a lot of work to do.
“With this Biden government, I don’t want people to forget that black lives still matter – they never stopped being important,” said Princess Warner, 20.
Teal Lindseth, 22, said the new government needs to focus on improving things like education and social assistance.
“My daughter should see the things in black history, she should be able to understand everything that is happening and be told. We haven’t even learned enough about these things, ”said Lindseth. “There is so much wrong with this world and it needs to change.”
CAPITOL IS QUIET
Only a handful of protesters – including Trump supporters and critics – attended the Oregon Capitol on Wednesday.
A pro-Biden protester carried a pair of plates, one of which read: “Catch Trump !!!” in all capital letters.
The Capitol windows remained boarded up and the entrance was protected by a wire fence.
The sense of alertness increased after a right-wing insurrection in the United States Capitol on January 6, when pro-Trump extremists tried to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election. Right-wing protesters also violated the Oregon Capitol and reportedly assaulted police and journalists during a special legislative session on December 21.
The scene in the Washington state capital at Olympia also remained calm on Wednesday afternoon.
ANOTHER PLACE IN PORTLAND
Earlier on Wednesday, about 20 protesters gathered outside a United States Department of Immigration and Customs building in South Portland, as part of a vigil for detainees.
The group had as a backdrop a large white cloth with “Abolir ICE” written in red and black letters. A collection of candles and chalk marks on the sidewalk promoted the same slogan.
One of the vigil’s organizers, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation from the right, said the ICE was committing “genocide” and that the protesters’ ultimate goal was to abolish the agency.
“We have to fight for it, no matter who the president is,” she said.
A second “Abolish ICE” protest has been scheduled to begin at 8 pm at Elizabeth Caruthers Park, which is close to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
VIRTUAL EVENTS
The Oregon Democratic Party hosted a virtual housewarming party broadcast on Facebook and the party’s website at 4:45 pm.
Portland’s Episcopal Trinity Cathedral was holding a virtual service at 5:30 pm to celebrate the peaceful transition of power, reading, among other works, the poetry of Walt Whitman, Maya Angelou and Emma Lazarus and singing Dolly Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue” Morning.”
The “Rhythm Nation Inauguration Celebration” had a one-hour public policy panel scheduled to start at 7pm. A dance party with live broadcast with DJs at the Holocene bar and nightclub would follow the event.
– The Oregonian / OregonLive team