By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Patriot Prayer (background) had a permit to march on Saturday in Portland when it encountered Antifa (foreground)

Yesterday in Portland, Oregon there was a Patriot Prayer rally. If you aren’t familiar with them, they are supporters of President Trump and believe in conservatism and in putting America first. They are open to everyone and are not racist in the least. Patriot Prayer was founded in 2016 by Joey Gibson, a Japanese-American. They are pretty much non-violent, however, they will protect themselves. They held the protest to support the president and to show that the police are actually working against them in Portland, which they are.

During the siege on the ICE facility there in Portland, the mayor forbade Portland police from interfering. He took the side of the leftists and said it was a federal problem. A week later he got his wish… Trump sent in the federal police and arrested people and then reopened the facility. When Antifa thugs attack Patriot Prayer rallies in Portland, the police are ordered to stand down. Even in this instance, they went after Patriot Prayer protesters far more than Antifa, who are the violent communists in all this. They wear black balaclavas over their faces. Patriot Prayer members were wearing colorful balaclavas as well. I would recommend to them not to wear the face coverings… the left will use it against them and they will be equated with Antifa over it. It makes you look like a terrorist.

During the rally yesterday, Antifa threw a flash-bang grenade into the middle of the rally. Violence ensued and the weapons that were seized there all belonged to Antifa. After the grenade went off, a fight broke out between the two groups. In the end, four were arrested and I’m not sure which side they were on, but I have a hunch they were leftists. Patriot Rally had a permit and their march was scheduled. Their permit was revoked even though they did not start the violence. This was not connected to other anti-immigration rallies taking place in Portland and across the nation yesterday.

Four people were sent to the hospital by ambulance; three with non serious injuries and one with a serious, but non-life threatening injury. One police officer was also hurt, but it was not serious. He was hit with a projectile. “They were throwing rocks, they were throwing bottles, you need to tell the truth,” one middle-aged woman in a Make America Great Again hat said after the clashes, addressing media in remarks caught on camera. Of course they won’t… they never do. “No one on our side did anything violent, everything was self defense,” she claimed. “You guys have to stop it because you’re encouraging these people to come down here and try to murder us.” As far as I can tell, she has it right.

Organizers of the Patriot Prayer rally said it was to protest the lack of police protection from left-wing groups at prior events in Portland. Specifically communist Antifa goons. “The nation is EXTREMELY angry about how Portland citizens treated Freedom Loving Americans who marched in the streets of this dangerous city,” the group said in an invitation to the event. Antifa groups called Patriot Prayer a fascist and racist group. Patriot Prayer leaders have denounced racism and say their events are open to all races. They aren’t fascist or racist, but Antifa certainly is.

Weapons seized included bear mace, clubs, gloves with reinforced knuckles, batons, knives and handgun clips. One guess which side they belonged to. Police announced that Patriot Prayer’s march permit had been revoked at around 5:50 pm, after saying, “Fireworks and other objects are being thrown at today’s protest around 2nd and Main.”

Those arrested were identified as:

  • Luiz Enrique Marquez, 46, charged with first-degree theft, third-degree theft and third-degree assault.
  • Tusitala J. Toese, 22, charged with fourth-degree assault.
  • Donovon Lyle Flippo, 23, charged with second-degree disorderly conduct.
  • Matthew Reid Braddock, 37, charged with second-degree robbery and third-degree assault.

Evidently, all were released except Braddock, whose bail has been set at $255,000. “Portland Police planned for today’s protest so that people could exercise their First Amendment rights to speech and assembly,” said Deputy Chief Bob Day in a statement. “We seized numerous weapons early on, and interceded and separated people when necessary. However, once projectiles, such as fireworks, eggs, rocks, bottles and construction equipment were thrown and people were injured, we ordered people to disperse,” Day said.

Joey Gibson said in an interview with KOIN that the march was intended to show “that there’s a political move right now to have the police stand down in order to impact free speech in some of these big cities. Portland’s the last city on the West Coast that’s doing that, so we just have to keep hitting it — I don’t see what else to do other than that,” Gibson said. “We’ll make Portland so ugly in terms of how they allow these protesters to charge us when we have a permit. The police stood down, we were told they would not stand down, so we have to challenge it.”

Antifa and other communists of course don’t want Patriot Prayer to have the right to speak at all and called for the march to be disrupted before Saturday’s events. “Joey Gibson and his crew of violent bigots unfortunately are once again calling for a rally in Portland which is without fail a pretext for assorted Alt Right bullies, Nazis, homophobes, and unsavory characters to gather in hopes of brutalizing the most vulnerable people they can find,” a group called Eugene City Antifa said in a call on Facebook to disrupt the rally. Someone might want to point out to this genius that Gibson is Japanese. If you are a Trump supporter or a conservative these days, they automatically label you a racist and a fascist. The only ones brutalizing others is Antifa.

“It is very important that antifascists keep up the pressure so that we can stop them once and for all. The priority for tomorrow is to make Joey and the fascists he brings in have such an awful time that they decide to stop having these events entirely,” Portland-based group Rose City Antifa said on Facebook on Friday. “There are many ways in which to do this, and we will all have to use our various skills and take whatever opportunities present themselves.” Their primary way is to employ violence. Patriot Prayer seems to be the only group fighting back against these vicious communists. Shame on Portland for this.