Armed defiance of mitigation laws urged at Oregon protest

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Roughly 200 people gathered at the Capitol in Salem to protest government-ordered coronavirus lockdown measures they say violate their liberty, and speakers urged steps including purposefully spreading the virus to achieve herd immunity and using guns to defend restaurants that defy state orders to offer takeout meals only..

Many in the crowd didn’t wear masks. Some waved flags decrying far-left group antifa. Chants of “USA! USA! USA” rang out as U.S. flags flapped noisily in the brisk wind.

After more than an hour of speeches on the Capitol steps and as a hard rain fell, the group marched the nearly two miles to Mahonia Hall, the home to Oregon governors, and continued the protest there. They chanted “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “USA!” as they walked.

As they returned to the Capitol more than an hour later, the last remnants of the right-wing crowd encountered a small group of left-wing protesters, some clad all in black, who said they were protecting a Black-owned business. Both sides yelled insults and, as the right-wing group tried to make contact, police arrived en masse to separate the sides. Eventually they deployed flash bangs to keep the right-wing group at bay. At least one person was arrested.

As the crowd returning to the Capitol remained insistent at targeting the small left-wing group, police repeatedly used flash bang munitions to get them to move on. Protesters set off smoke bombs and fired angry words back. “We pay you! We pay you and you abuse us,” one woman yelled.

Another right-wing protester pushed Dave Killen, a news photographer for The Oregonian/OregonLive, down onto the pavement.

When the crowd of about 150 reached the governor’s mansion, they chanted crude protests against China, antifa and, above all, Gov. Kate Brown. The home where Brown lives with her husband, Dan Little, was surrounded by Oregon State Police troopers.

“War is coming. This is war. It is time to get out of your house and into the streets,” a speaker said.

“I will shed my blood if I have to. I am not scared,” another speaker, who said he was 28, said. “Enough talk.”

Another speaker is blamed China and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for stealing votes and the election. The crowd broke out in cries of “Arrest Kate Brown!”

The event was organized by Oregon Women for Trump. Carole Leek, who is retired and lives near Salem, played a lead role. She told The Oregonian/OregonLive the rally was an opportunity for people to vent their frustrations and let government leaders know what they think. She insisted it would be peaceful.

This is not good.

My only hope is crowded non-masking protesters all get CV and become too ill to protest.

Or, I have read that CV can affect the neurology of a person, so perhaps they have all already had it and that is what brings them to this madness?

Just nothing more than a bunch of Trump supporters who will always continue to drink the Kool-Aid even well after Trump is out of office. He'll always be a cult leader and nothing else.

I don't like hypocrisy. You'll probably dismiss me as a Trump supporter, though I'm not really that crazy about him. Oregon was the home of the nightly protests for months and months, mainly in Portland. Now that the opposite side wants to protest once (in the same state), they're deemed fanatics and weirdos. Bizarre double-standard.

I don't like hypocrisy. You'll probably dismiss me as a Trump supporter, though I'm not really that crazy about him. Oregon was the home of the nightly protests for months and months, mainly in Portland. Now that the opposite side wants to protest once (in the same state), they're deemed fanatics and weirdos. Bizarre double-standard.

I don't like hypocrisy. You'll probably dismiss me as a Trump supporter, though I'm not really that crazy about him. Oregon was the home of the nightly protests for months and months, mainly in Portland. Now that the opposite side wants to protest once (in the same state), they're deemed fanatics and weirdos. Bizarre double-standard.

Umm that’s because they are fanatics and wierdos. Lmao seriously??

Roughly 200 people gathered at the Capitol in Salem to protest government-ordered coronavirus lockdown measures they say violate their liberty, and speakers urged steps including purposefully spreading the virus to achieve herd immunity and using guns to defend restaurants that defy state orders to offer takeout meals only..

As the crowd returning to the Capitol remained insistent at targeting the small left-wing group, police repeatedly used flash bang munitions to get them to move on. Protesters set off smoke bombs and fired angry words back. “We pay you! We pay you and you abuse us,” one woman yelled.

I don't like hypocrisy. You'll probably dismiss me as a Trump supporter, though I'm not really that crazy about him. Oregon was the home of the nightly protests for months and months, mainly in Portland. Now that the opposite side wants to protest once (in the same state), they're deemed fanatics and weirdos. Bizarre double-standard.