Portland erupts in protest again as far-right 'Proud Boys' clash with Antifa supporters

Portland police arrested one person after a violent protest broke out between a far-right group and anti-fascists left-wing on August 22, Sunday. According to the reports, the protest broke out during the opposition rally on Sunday afternoon. The police said that the protest turned deadly after hundreds of people gathered at the Rose City with armed bats, paintball guns and shields. The clash lead to the massive destruction of public property, added the police. "Around 12:30 p.m., demonstrators started gathering at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park downtown. An opposing group gathered in a parking lot in Northeast Portland.

Around 4 p.m., subsets of the groups clashed in northeast Portland, where people lit fireworks and chemical spray, and fired what appeared to be paintball and airsoft guns," said the Portland police in a statement released a day after the incident. About an hour later, shots were fired at demonstrators downtown, added police.

Police and media have different verses on Portland protests

Although, police said that no one was injured in the deadly clash, however, the photographs and videos surfaced on social media pages narrate a different tale. As of now, a 65-year-old man was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. While briefing about the incident, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said police would not necessarily intervene during such an incident and appealed to the citizens to refrain from joining any protest that poses threat to the country's harmony.

"People should keep themselves apart and avoid physical confrontation"

“You should not expect to see police officers standing in the middle of the crowd trying to keep people apart,” he said in a statement Friday. “People should keep themselves apart and avoid physical confrontation.” On Monday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement that “events this past weekend put innocent lives and livelihoods at risk.” However, Wheeler also stated that strategic planning from the police bureau “mitigated confrontation between the two events and minimized the impact of the weekend’s events to Portlanders.” Wheeler said police monitored the events and were within minutes of both locations, ready to take action if the situation worsened.

(With inputs from AP)