POLITICS, PUBLIC SAFETY

Salem police arrest 5 at protest against immigration enforcement

An hours-long protest Saturday against national immigration enforcement started peacefully but eventually devolved into demonstrators blocking a busy northeast Salem intersection, driving dangerously and throwing objects at cars, according to the Salem Police Department.

Photos on social media showed hundreds of people gathered along Northeast Lancaster Drive, waving Mexican and American flags and waving signs saying “no one is illegal” and “families belong together.”

The agency said in a news release Sunday afternoon that the protest at the intersection of Lancaster and Northeast Market Street amassed an estimated 300 participants within two hours.

Police arrested five Salem residents at the protest for accusations including reckless driving, disorderly conduct and one for unlawful possession of a firearm. Salem Reporter generally does not identify people who have been arrested but not  formally charged with a crime unless they are accused of significant felony conduct.

Salem police said they seized this handgun from one of five people arrested during a protest at the intersection of Northeast Lancaster Drive and Northeast Market Street on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 (Salem Police Department)

The protest came as the Trump administration is commissioning what it recently described as “the largest massive deportation operation in history,” with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents planning or making arrests during raids throughout the U.S.

Around noon on Saturday, a crowd of people gathered in the parking lots of several businesses at the four corners of the intersection.

The police statement said the gathering “remained relatively peaceful, although traffic in the area was congested. As the event progressed, callers reported participants throwing objects and hitting passing cars. Eventually, more police resources were called in to address the event.”

Salem police received reports around 7 p.m. that participants were standing in the crosswalk blocking traffic, igniting fireworks and driving vehicles recklessly.

Police at that point requested backup, including calling officers from home and from two other agencies. The Oregon State Police helped control traffic and the Keizer Police Department responded to calls.

Drivers overtook the intersection around 8:30 p.m., performing burnouts – spinning the wheels of parked cars to create smoke – “dangerously drifting” and spinning in the road, according to the police statement. Nearly 50 people also stood in the street.

Police around 15 minutes later closed Lancaster between D Street and Sunnyview Road, and Market Street between Fisher Road and Tierra Drive. Cherriots buses were rerouted, and the State police closed the Market Street offramp.

Salem police said they closed Northeast Lancaster Drive between D Street and Sunnyview Road, and Northeast Market Street between Fisher Road and Tierra Drive around 8:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 (Google Maps)

As crowd management officers from Salem police’s Mobile Response Team arrived, the group surrounded a vehicle on Lancaster, blocking traffic headed north. Officers cleared the area and allowed the vehicle to proceed. 

“The protestors threw water bottles and cans of beer at Salem police vehicles,” according to the statement. Police then contacted the people “observed engaging in criminal activity” and seized a handgun.

The ages of the people arrested ranged from 18 to 34.

“The remaining crowd gathered on the sidewalks dispersed slowly, and traffic diminished,” police said. The streets were reopened around 11 p.m.

Police said no injuries were reported, but officers will investigate several complaints of criminal mischief.

“Saturday’s unruly protest, along with other emergency calls including an armed kidnapping, strained our limited patrol staffing resources, Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack said in the statement. “I am very proud of the work our officers accomplished under challenging and dangerous circumstances, yesterday’s events just being the most recent examples. I want to thank them and our regional partners for their service, dedication, and professionalism.”

Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.

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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.