Copyright The Oregonian
Most of the recent arrests outside Portland’s federal immigration facility that have led to charges involved alleged altercations between protesters and counterprotesters, records show. The charges people have faced in the month since President Donald Trump promised to deploy troops in Portland are a dramatic departure from the kinds of charges people faced in mid-June, when protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility were at their most tumultuous. At that time, Portland police arrested people for crimes such as throwing rocks at the ICE building, shoving officers and trying to light fires, records show. Since Trump’s announcement Sept. 27, defendants most often have been charged with pepper-spraying, attacking, punching or shoving their ideological opposites. In fact, altercations between protesters and counterprotesters have accounted for all but three of the Police Bureau’s arrests that led to charges since Trump’s announcement 35 days ago, an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis found. Counterprotesters were the alleged victims in nine of the arrests that led to charges — half the number since Trump announced he would deploy troops. Anti-ICE protesters were the alleged victims in six of the arrests. An additional three arrests had no victim. Federal officials accused Portland police of discriminating against right-wing protesters after officers arrested prominent right-wing media personality Nick Sortor Oct. 2. But the actual arrest data contradict that claim, showing instead that more people have been arrested and charged with alleged violence against counterprotesters than the reverse. Feds in Portland Judge to rule Sunday in Portland troop deployment case, aware of ‘looming’ deadline Portland youth soccer games canceled over nearby ICE activity Feds refuse to extend temporary order barring troops in Portland to give judge more time to rule Protesters preview Halloween outside Portland ICE building as trial over troops grinds on: Get caught up Portland State University lecturer Alexander Reid Ross said he’s not surprised by the conflicts reported outside the ICE facility because counterprotesters have, historically, contributed to a dynamic that can stoke violence. “Counterprotests can actually cause the increase of volatility and violence in situations that would otherwise be under control,” said Ross, an expert in far-right movements and author of the book “Against the Fascist Creep.” “While they approach a situation from the perspective of being heroes and vigilantes, they often increase the lawlessness.” The Portland Police Bureau strained to say that it was a neutral party when monitoring protests near the ICE facility. “PPB tries not to label people as protesters or counterprotesters, or left-wing and right-wing for that matter,” spokesperson Mike Benner said. “PPB is focused on criminal behavior and will make arrests if probable cause is established.” Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez also stressed that his office is focused on crimes, not ideology. “Yes — we are seeing that there are conflicts between protesters. We are not tracking what political side of the spectrum folks are on," Vasquez said in a written statement. “These are inner protest conflicts — we are trying to keep the peace." The earliest arrests since Trump’s announcement involved livestreamer Matthew Cooper, listed as the victim in two of the arrests that led to charges. He was allegedly attacked Sept. 28 by protesters Nathan McFarland and Eric Sanchez, both of whom are barred from approaching the facility while their cases work their way through court. Sortor, the right-wing influencer, was the victim in an alleged attack a few days later. According to court records, protesters Son Mi Yi and Angella Davis were arrested Oct. 2 after one of them allegedly chased Sortor with a stick and another allegedly pushed him into a bioswale using an umbrella. Sortor was arrested that night, too, but the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office declined to bring charges against him. Conservative online personality Rhein Amacher was the victim in an alleged harassment case Oct. 5, when police said protester Terrell Bouie dumped what appeared to be urine on Amacher’s head. Protester Leah Bothamley was accused of hitting a counterprotester in the eye with her phone Oct. 7 and Ren Purkerson was accused of pushing counterprotester Harold Alston Smith Oct. 8. Thomas Allen, of Portland, was another livestreamer listed as a victim in an Oct. 8 arrest. Police accused protester Nathan Kaleel of stealing Allen’s tripod and damaging his cellphone. Sortor was again listed as the victim in a third arrest Oct. 25, when police accused protester Graciella Sobieralski of pushing him, records show. Sobieralski told The Oregonian/OregonLive Sortor had approached her filming with a bright light while she was talking to police and asked the officers to tell Sortor to leave. They did not, and she pushed him, she acknowledged. Sortor did not respond to a request for comment. Sobieralski isn’t allowed within four blocks of the ICE facility as part of her release conditions. Neither is Davis. The Portland Police Bureau said it had no evidence that protesters were targeting media personalities or livestreamers, indicating instead that the influencers were escalating tensions for views. “We have not found evidence that media or live-streamers are being specifically targeted by protesters. What we have observed is that a number of live-streamers and personalities regularly attend these events and, in some cases, contribute to an environment where tension and confrontation can escalate,” Benner said in an email. “Many of these individuals are creating content for audiences that reward intensity and conflict, which can sometimes amplify volatile situations.” Counterprotesters have also contributed to the alleged violence near the ICE facility, records indicate. Allen, a near-nightly presence near the ICE facility in October, was arrested Oct. 5 and charged with fourth-degree assault and disorderly conduct after he allegedly hit Bouie — the same protester who allegedly dumped urine on a counterprotester the same day. Allen has been barred from approaching within 200 feet of the facility but has continued to livestream from about a block away. Smith, 32, has been arrested twice — for allegedly stealing a protester’s walking stick Oct. 9 and on Oct. 11 after allegedly punching a female protester in the side of the head with a closed fist, causing her to fall. Smith told the newsroom that he felt what he believed was spit on the back of his head, turned, saw the alleged victim and hit her. He has been barred from coming within three blocks of the facility. Smith told the newsroom that the counterprotesters’ goal is to distract the protesters. “The whole point is to try to get (the protesters) away from the ICE building and leave those guys alone and get them to come to us,” Smith said. “They come down to harass us because we’re down there with our loud horns and American flags, and they don’t like it.” Counterprotester Mark Lee was charged with assault and harassment after he allegedly shoved a woman in an inflatable clown costume, records show. Lee, who was arrested Oct. 18, was convicted in 2021 of menacing and unlawful use of a weapon when he walked through downtown Portland with an airsoft rifle. Another counterprotester, William Napier, was arrested Oct. 23 for allegedly pepper-spraying a woman who approached him while filming on her phone. A man who pleaded guilty in 2021 for his role in an attack on the Oregon State Capitol, Jeremy Wayne Roberts, was arrested Oct. 26 for allegedly swatting the hand of a protester who was filming him on her phone, records show. The alleged victim, Pamela Hemphill, took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and has since then changed her political views to become a prominent anti-Trump protester. Just three arrests since Trump’s troop announcement that led to charges involved no victim. One man was arrested Oct. 3 for allegedly blocking traffic and another two men were arrested Oct. 25 after repeatedly walking into traffic lanes despite officers’ instructions, records show.
