Salem police are investigating reports that a man in a pickup truck brandished a gun at a group during the “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump on Saturday. 

A Salem woman who attended the protest said she witnessed a man in a pickup truck flash a firearm at a group of protesters crossing the street near the state Capitol.

Salem Reporter is not identifying her due to concerns for her safety.

Salem police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Hardy confirmed to Salem Reporter on Tuesday that police were looking into the incident. He said police had information they could follow up on.

“We just had ultimately one side of the story, so we are trying to figure out what happened and look into it,” Hardy said. 

The No Kings protest brought thousands to the Oregon Capitol on Saturday to protest what many described as President Donald Trump and his administration’s authoritarian overreach. Trump supporters were also partaking in another but far smaller event not far away where protesters called for Gov. Tina Kotek’s resignation.

Protesters from both events intermingled in the streets around the Capitol and both events remained peaceful. 

The woman said she was at the crosswalk at the intersection between Northeast Center Street and Northeast Winter Street walking south when a northbound pickup truck turned into the intersection, blocking the crosswalk. She said she’d previously seen drivers block the intersection deliberately as protesters crossed.

The woman told Salem Reporter she didn’t think much of the guy blocking the road, but then heard another protester nearby say, “Hey, he’s got a gun.”

She then saw a handgun in his hand.

“He just flashed it (the gun) at us. He just showed it to us basically. It was more like a statement: ‘Hey, I’ve got a gun here,’” the woman said. “I didn’t feel threatened as much as I felt irritated and contemptuous and pissed off that somebody would interrupt our peaceful protest.”  

She estimated the driver to be between 20 and 30 years old, turned the corner and headed east on Center. 

She said she got a good look at the vehicle which she described as a relatively new grey Toyota Tundra.

After the man drove away, the woman found a booth set up by Salem Region Indivisible, one of the protest organizers, and reported the incident.

Thom Gapen of Salem Indivisible confirmed that the woman approached the organization’s booth on Saturday to report the incident. 

Gapen said by the time he had called Salem police, his impression was that the agency had already heard about the incident and were looking into it.  

NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Joe Siess at [email protected].

BOOST OUR JOURNALISM– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.