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
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