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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2017)
Street Roots • June 9-15, 2017 E d ito r ia l Page 3 Portland should be wary of rise in militia actions n Sunday, June 4, downtown Portland a Third Reich-like scenerio. became the epicenter of the city’s According to the Southern Poverty Law rising tension following several Center, both the Three Percenters United confrontations with white supremacists, Patriots one and American Patriots Three tragically ending in the murder of two men Percenters have a statewide presence in on a Max train only a week before. Oregon, and the Oath Keepers are present On that day, several demonstrators, in 10 counties, including Washington, H H including out-of-state Columbia, Lane and Marion. They visitors, held a white supported Cliven Bundy’s stand of with nationalist rally in Terry federal agents in Nevada over the use of ■■ h m h m h b m h Schrunk Plaza, a federally federal lands, and they supported the managed area across Bundy takeover of the Malheur Wildlife from City Hall. They were a small sideshow Refuge last year. compared to the mass of people who And they currently have a call out to assembled across the street in protest. members to provide security for the What happened next has been well numerous rallies billed as the “March documented: Hundreds of additional Against Sharia” this Sunday, June 10, demonstrators, including advertising the fear of a terrorist members of the anti-fascist, or attack at the events. Portland’s antifa movement, more March Against Sharia was moved aggressively marched into the to Seattle. On an area. They were blockaded by Their presence in providing emotional and the massive police force, psychological what they call “security” in kettled and dispersed. Portland is cause for alarm. The level, they are Also patrolling the crowds state law requires security that day - in addition to federal, driving a wedge officers to be certified by the state and local police - was a of intimidation Board on Public Safety paramilitary force that holds no Standards and Training - or hold between the obligation to government social divisions a comparable certification from authorities, that has its own another state. It’s unknown if we should be interpretation of Constitutional any of the militia members working to rights, and acts without follow any such standards oversight by the residents of overcome. outside of their own Portland. They are the Oath organization’s tenets. O Keepers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is now investigating militia involvement in the arrest of a man protesting the June 4 free-speech rally, according to a spokesperson for Federal Protective Services, the police division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Photos and video circulating online show what appears to be federal officers working alongside a militia member to restrain a counter-protester on the ground near the perimeter of the white nationalist rally. Again, this person has no authority to lay a hand on anyone at this event. -■According to a 2016 report from Rural Organizing Project and Political Research Associations, the Oath Keepers and a similar group, Three Percenters, participate in vigilante border militias, spread anti- Muslim rhetoric and “tend to be more aggressive and violent than other Patriot movement groups.” The report, “Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement,” states there are thousands of Patriot activists in Oregon and that the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, surfaced shortly after the 2008 election of Barack Obama. The Oath Keepers calls itself a “nonpartisan association of current service military, reserves, National Guard, peace officers, firefighters and veterans who swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.” However, you don’t have to have any prior service to join as an associate. The organization’s first priority is to protect the right to own guns - all guns, including assault weapons - under the argument that they have to defend themselves from the federal government in Certified or not, the city of Portland has struggled, and continues to struggle, to establish a fair and just system around police accountability. There is no accountability with these organizations whose presence is in pursuit of confrontation. They should not be permitted to act under the banner of law enforcement authorities. And finally, the presence of militia members in other cases - by intention or not - leads to the escalation of tension and the potential for violence. From the Ferguson, Mo., protests after the police shooting of Michael Brown, to Oregon’s own Sugar Pine Mine standoff in Josephine County - armed militia members from the Oath Keepers amplified the potential for physical violence. On an emotional and psychological level, they are driving a wedge of intimidation between the social divisions we should be working to overcome. Aggravating the situation are those actors from the antifa movement who have been menacing and aggressive toward Republican and Trump supporters. It’s that kind of aggravation that has Multnomah County Republican Party Chair James Buchal say the party is considering inviting the Oath Keepers to future events. Maybe it makes people feel better, but this senseless violence is an obstruction to real change. In both cases, these two extremes can have a chilling effect on free speech for the majority of people in the middle - for those who are now finding their voice to speak out. That’s what truly needs protecting. Board of Directors C h a irm a n Brad Taylor V ic e -C h a irm a n Rachel Langford T r e a s u r e r Heather Stadick S e c re ta ry Dan Jones D ire c to rs Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Nels Johnson and Alison Hallett Volunteers Jan Bayer, John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Zoe Klingmann, Dan Jones, Dennis Hogan, Monica McKune, Susan Wolfe, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jeanie Lunsford, Yasmin Amirsoleymani, Jason Cohen, Tom Ray, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon Raymond, Diana Richardson, Cherie Manning, Paul and Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne Joyce, Del Shawn Davidson, Gillian Floren, Mark OlDani, Bridget Brown, Cody Travels, Bianca Butler, Robb Hengerer, Alex Cherin, Jenny Farres, Evan Firsick, Camber Hansen-Karr, Miranda Woods, Henry Brannan, Megan Smith, Luke Scheuermann, Annie Aube and Helen Hill. If you're interested in volunteering with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or you can call for more information at 503-228-5657.
