A rally hosted by the Pacific Northwest Community Action Group, planned for the Capitol on Saturday, was shifted to Pringle Community Hall. Several hundred people gathered for what was billed as speeches and a march. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter)
UPDATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON:
The Oregon State Police reported they had made two arrests Saturday afternoon as protesters congregated at the Capitol, hours after former Vice President Joe Biden was declared winner of the 2020 presidential election.
A pro-Trump rally, part of a nationwide coordinated “Stop the Steal campaign,” started at the Capitol at about noon. Demonstrators lined Court Street in front of the Capitol, chanting and yelling at passing cars, according to videos posted on social media.
In one scene, demonstrators harangued reporters covering the scene, saying they were responsible for politically dividing the country. One video showed the pro-Trump supporters shoving a photographer and in another video gathering around a car stopped in the traffic lane in front of the Capitol, yelling at the driver, pounding the vehicle and flicking what appeared to be a cigarette into the car.
The Pacific Northwest Community Action Group of Portland had scheduled its own rally at the Capitol for 3 p.m. Saturday. The event was shifted a few blocks south to the city-owned Pringle Community Hall. An estimated 300 people had gathered there, some carrying paintball guns and others dressed in medic jackets.
This story will be updated.
Supporters of President Donald Trump gather outside the Capitol on Saturday, Nov. 7, in a “Stop the Steal” protest. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
A crowd gathers at Pringle Community Hall in Salem on Saturday, Nov. 7, in a last-minute shift of venues for a protest organized by a Portland group that was to have been at the Capitol. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
ORIGNAL STORY:
Salem city officials warned of the “high likelihood” of vandalism in downtown on Saturday as two rallies by divergent groups are planned at the Capitol.
The city in a Friday evening statement said residents and businesses downtown should “take precautions” but didn’t advise specific actions.
The statement said the city had “credible information of unusual activity” planned downtown and that there was “a high likelihood of vandalism and property damage.” The city provided no details about the source of its information or who might involved.
“The city does not believe the groups who are planning to come to Salem are affiliated with any of our known community organizers,” the statement said.
City Manager Steve Powers has assigned extra police and “activated special teams” for Saturday, the statement said.
According to social media posts and website information, two groups plan to be in Salem to protest regarding the election.
A group called Oregonians for America has scheduled what it is billing as a “Stop the Steal” rally at the Capitol for noon. The event is part of a nationwide effort to hold similar rallies at capitols to support President Donald Trump.
“He stood for us, now it’s time to stand with him! They’re trying to take President Trump away from this country and we will not stand for it,” the group said in its Facebook post promoting the Salem event. “By showing up in numbers we’ll show Oregon, and the nation, we’re not going down without a fight and we refuse to cave to corruption!”
The Pacific Northwest Community Action Group has planned a separate rally at the Capitol to start at 3 p.m. The group said the event will feature speakers and performers. It said support for the rally was also coming from the Rural Organizing Project, Salem DSA, Willamette Action Collective, Symbiosis PDX, Mano a Mano, Portland Rising Tide and Defense Fund PDX.
“We must become organized and send a clear message that we will not tolerate voter disenfranchisement or election theft, nor will we tolerate a two-party system that serves only the wealthy, and are instead committed to building a truly just and equitable society,” the action group said in a website posting.
“We cannot pay rent, so we will not pay rent. We cannot safely work, so we will not work,” the post said. “If you belong to a church group or neighborhood association, a union or a Grange, please talk to your friends and community about what you can do to fight for the kind of change that won’t come from either party.”
The group hosted one of two protests in downtown Portland last Wednesday.
That evening, law enforcement officials declared a riot after some protesters smashed business windows and threw projectiles at police. The National Guard was deployed and police made several arrests.
On Thursday, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt condemned the destruction.
“What we saw last night — the destruction of property at multiple businesses including at a female founded and women run local clothing store, at a church that provides healing and shelter, clothing, food and assistance to homeless individuals and people overcoming substance abuse and addiction and at a hotel that is committed to the revitalization of Old Town Chinatown — is unacceptable and criminal,” Schmidt said.
Salem has seen a string of protests based at the Capitol in recent months. In late May, protesters and police clashed downtown and saw the first deployment ever of tear gas by the Salem Police Department. Glass doors at Salem Center were broken and vandals spray painted graffiti on monuments on the steps of the Capitol.
A Labor Day protest at the Capitol resulted in two arrests as demonstrators from opposing groups clashed. Two participants in a pro-Trump rally were arrested for assaulting and pepper spraying other demonstrators.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, A group of Proud Boys armed with military-style rifles roamed Bush’s Pasture Park, upsetting some residents about people drinking and carrying weapons in a city park.
Lt. Debbie Aguilar, a spokeswoman for the Salem Police Department, said later that a dozen officers were at or near the park that Saturday and the Oregon State Police were on standby in case violence broke out. Police took no action to intervene, she said.
“Unless there’s a specific law that’s being violated that we can address, we have to protect everybody’s rights even if we don’t agree with them,” she said.
Contact Editor Les Zaitz: [email protected].
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