Tensions rise, crowd dwindles outside Portland ICE facility

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Tensions rose throughout Sunday as hundreds of protesters gathered at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland one day after President Donald Trump formally announced his intent to deploy federal troops to Portland.

As night fell and the crowd thinned, the tension reached a boiling point. Federal agents engaged protesters and apparently took at least one into custody, although that has not been confirmed. One protester apparently punched another protester, then ran to the police for help as he was chased by the crowd. Bike patrol officers separated some from engaging with each other before vacating the block.

By 10 p.m. the crowd had largely dispersed. Only about 60 people remained from the much larger group just an hour earlier. But the Portland police moved in at that point and pushed protesters back and out of the street, apparently arresting at least one person.

By 11 p.m. there were only about 30 people outside the ICE facility. However, someone in the crowd apparently used bear mace near some protesters, causing some to move quickly out of the area. The bear mace was initially believed to be pepper spray.

At one point in the late afternoon, about 300 protesters were on the sidewalks outside the ICE facility on Southwest Macadam.

By 5 p.m. protesters were blocking the streets in front of the ICE building. KOIN 6 News observed some rising tensions and the possible use of pepper spray. Armed uniformed personnel wearing masks were visible on the rooftop of the ICE building looking down to the street filled with people.

Large helicopters, believed to be federally operated, flew overhead for hours.

There were two separate events on Sunday: this one outside the ICE facility, and an earlier event on Portland’s downtown waterfront.

In a Sunday release ahead of the planned events, Portland police said they activated their Incident Command Team. Those resources include Dialogue Liaison Officers (wearing white uniform shirts), Rapid Response Team, Sound Truck, as well as their Air Support Unit.

The downtown waterfront rally organized by the Protect Oregon coalition – which includes the ACLU of Oregon, labor unions and other community organizations – began at the Battleship Waterfront Memorial along Southwest Naito Parkway to drive home the message, “No military takeover of our communities.”

Both Gov. Kotek and Mayor Wilson were among those who marched in this rally.

“This is an abuse of power and a misuse of the military,” said Sandy Chung, Executive Director, ACLU of Oregon. “Oregon is home, not a military target. Violence has no place in our politics or our communities. The military should not come to Oregon.”

Oregon files suit

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson held a joint press conference Sunday to announce new litigation following President Trump’s announcement he would deploy federal troops to Portland.

Rayfield said the request for a temporary restraining order was filed at 2 p.m. Sunday, slightly more than 4 hours after learning Trump invoked Title 10, which allowed him to order the deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Portland.

Rayfield said the plaintiffs are the State of Oregon and the City of Portland in the request for a temporary restraining order filed in the District Court of Oregon.

“We hope to be in front of a judge within a week,” Rayfield said.

‘Authorizing Full Force’

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he is sending the federal troops to “protect” the city and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities from antifa and other “domestic terrorists.” 

The president also said he was “also authorizing Full Force, if necessary,” though it was unclear exactly what he meant.

Numerous local leaders at the city, state and federal levels denounced the message, leading to a press conference held by Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson on the banks of the Willamette River.

It was there Kotek said she spoke with the president Saturday and told him in no uncertain terms that there was no need for federal troops to be sent to Portland.

But she added, “We had no proactive communication from the White House until I reached out.”

Saturday night, dozens of protesters maintained a spot on the sidewalks in front of the ICE facility as large helicopters and drones buzzed the skies over the area.

Before dark, about 100 of the protesters came from the Portland peace team with different religious leaders and families with flowers. They marched peacefully in front of the building on SW Macadam as drones — believed to be operated by authorities inside the ICE building — flew overhead.

It appeared that at least one protester was arrested by ICE agents, but there has been no confirmation of that by officials at this time.

In a Sunday release ahead of the planned events, Portland police said they have activated their Incident Command Team. They say those resources include Dialogue Liaison Officers (wearing white uniform shirts), Rapid Response Team, Sound Truck, as well as their Air Support Unit.

However, PPB noted larger groups of officers may be observed to “make targeted arrests for specific crimes committed.”

“PPB members may also investigate crimes and conduct follow-up investigations into criminal activity later and will forward cases to the Multnomah County District Attorney for prosecution when feasible,” the release added. “As a reminder, just because arrests are not made at the scene, when tensions are high, that does not mean that people are not being charged with crimes later.”

Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this story.