Police prepare for violence at protest rallies in Portland

POLICE in Portland girded for potential unrest yesterday, citing “online threats of violence” ahead of duelling political rallies planned by supporters and opponents of US President Donald Trump, after racially charged killings convulsed Oregon’s largest city.

The Trump Free Speech Rally and counter-protests came a week after a man shouting religious and racial slurs at two girls on a commuter train stabbed three passengers who intervened, killing two of them. One of the girls was black, the other wearing a Muslim headscarf.

Jeremy Christian, 35, was charged with murder.

Portland mayor Ted Wheeler last week urged federal authorities to rescind a permit for yesterday’s pro-Trump rally, saying he worried the protest could stoke tension in the wake of the stabbings.

But the US General Services Administration, which manages the downtown Terry Schrunk Plaza protest site, denied the request, saying the permit was lawfully obtained.

Trump rally organisers also rebuffed Wheeler’s pleas to cancel their demonstration, leading several opposition groups to issue calls on social media for counter-protests and setting the stage for a possible confrontation.

The Portland police bureau vowed a show of force yesterday with help from state troopers, county sheriff ’s deputies, the FBI and Federal Protective Service, warning that protesters with weapons would face arrest.

Joey Gibson, an activist with the proTrump group Patriot Prayer, said he had arranged for private security to accompany his supporters. Anti-Trump activists staged a separate demonstration in Portland on Saturday.