PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) – Five years after Portland, Oregon protested, the city known for its history of civil disobedience is once again at the heart of a political maelstrom with equipment for the arrival of federal forces deployed by President Donald Trump.
A few months of demonstration Portland’s external immigration detention facility has escalated since last week that he said Trump was sending federal troops to the city he said “the war was destroyed.” Police made several arrests late Thursday after the fight broke out in the crowd.
On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem said the agency would send additional federal agents, and the Justice Department is launching a civil rights investigation into the circumstances surrounding the player’s arrest and whether the Portland Police Department is engaged in perspective discrimination.
City leaders have denied such discrimination and said they do not need the National Guard to deal with a single block outside the ice facility where the protests were raised.
“The arrests we made last night were based on causes that may not be based on individuals,” Police Chief Bob Day said at a press conference Friday. “There is no political bias related to our enforcement.”
Meanwhile, a federal judge heard debate about whether to temporarily block Trump’s call from the 200-man Oregon National Guard, but did not immediately control it.
Portland’s federal law enforcement escalation, population 636,000, and Oregon’s largest city have followed similar crackdowns to combat crime in other cities, Including Chicago, Baltimore and Memphis. He deployed the National Guard Los Angeles Over the summer and as part of his law enforcement agency. take over In Washington, DC
Protesters will bubble to monitor from shelves at US immigration customs facilities in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, October 2, 2025 (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
A conservative influencer arrested in Portland
Sortor, 27, a regular guest on Fox News and with over 1 million followers on his X profile, was arrested on Thursday night for two other people outside the city’s immigration and customs enforcement building. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said it is reviewing the case and will decide on Monday whether to proceed with the charges prior to the player’s arrest.
What led to his arrest was not immediately clear. Portland police said in a news release that officers observed two men fighting and that one man was knocked to the ground. Neither of them wanted to file a police report. Police moved in about three hours later as the fight continued to break out and Soter and the other two arrested.
All three were charged with two disorderly conduct. Salter was released on Friday on his own recognition, according to online records from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. An email seeking comment from the sort sent Friday was not answered and no one answered the phone number listed for him.
In a post on X on Friday morning, Sort said his arrest proved that Portland police were corrupt and controlled by “Vioent Antifa Zags, who terrorize the city.”
Mitch Green, the second Army veteran from the left and a member of the Portland City Council, stood with protesters outside federal court on Friday, October 3, 2025, before a federal court hearing on Oregon’s bid to temporarily block President Donald Trump’s deployment to Portland. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
The history of the Portland protest led to this moment
Portland is famous for erupting in 2020 with more than 100 days of sustained nightly protests during the Black Life Matter movement. In his first term, Trump sent federal law enforcement agencies to the city to protect the US District Court in central Portland after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, after protests attracted thousands of people.
The presence of federal agents further inflamed the situation, with federal officials repeatedly firing rubber bullets and tear gas. Viral videos captured militarized federal officials, often unidentified, arrested people and hugged them in unmarked vehicles.
At the same time, Portland police were unable to preempt a group of debris of black-fed protesters who roamed the downtown area and roamed.
Reports by Department of Homeland Security inspectors say that while the federal government has legal authority to deploy officers, many of them are There was a lack of training and equipment I had to carry out the mission.
tension It reached its peak In September 2020, self-identifying members of the anti-fascist movement on the far left Deadly shot 39-year-old Aaron “Jay” Danielson on his chest. Danielson and his friends were seen heading downtown to protect a caravan waving Trump supporters’ flags shortly before the shooting.
ShooterMichael Forest Renil tried to arrest him near Lacey, Washington, so he himself was shot and killed when he pulled the gun.
Protesters respond after being sprayed by Homeland Security Officers outside US immigration and customs enforcement facilities in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, October 2, 2025 (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Another context for today’s protest
The situation in Portland is very different now.
Since Trump took office in January, there have been a sustained, low-level protest outside the Portland Ice Facility, far from the 2020 downtown clash. These protests flare up in June during the nationwide protests surrounding Trump’s military parade, but have rarely attracted more than a dozen people in the past two months.
Trump has it again He turned his attention to the citycalling Portland “destroyed war,” “flagrations” and “world zones” that “live in hell.” However, local officials suggest that many of his claims and social media posts appear to rely on 2020 images. Under the new mayor, the city has reduced crime and downtown has seen a decline in homeless camps and an increase in footpaths.
The most violent crime in the nation I actually refused In recent years, a recent report from the Chiefs Association of Major Cities, including Portland, found that murders between January and June fell 51% compared to the same period in 2024.
City leaders urged restraints and told residents to “take bait” this week after an announcement that the National Guard would be sent to Portland this week.
People outside federal courthouses in Portland, Oregon on Friday, October 3, 2025 will protest before a federal court hearing before President Donald Trump hears a bid to temporarily block the National Guard’s deployment in Portland. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Oregon is trying to block Trump’s deployment of the National Guard
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut heard debate about whether to stop the deployment of the Portland National Guard.
Oregon pleaded to stop the deployment on September 28th, failing to convince Trump to stop the deployment on September 27th with a 10-minute call.
Immergut said it will issue orders later on Friday or the weekend.
Meanwhile, the National Guard was training on the Oregon coast, from a community not too far from Portland – anticipating the deployment.
However, Thursday’s selection arrest is likely also more likely than the presence of federal law enforcement in Portland.
Director Tricia McLaughlin, who reposted a video from the protest and a photo of the players in custody, said customs and border protection and strengthening customs enforcement resources would immediately increase federal resources for the city.
“This violence will end under @Pothos Trump,” McLaughlin wrote.
