I know I said I was done, but I realized on my drive home I should probably do some recap in one place.
From what I saw today, this protest was a bust for Joe Biggs and the group of people who traveled to Portland to "fight antifa." 1/
Within an hour of arriving at Waterfront Park, that group asked police if they could cross back over the river to the east side. Police say they allowed that as a way to keep groups separate. 2/
After the Proud Boys crossed the river, Biggs told reporters that his group had proven their point and that they never said they were going to protest for the full five hours listed on the Facebook event he created. They then left for a BBQ away from Portland. 3/
Honestly, I think the recent arrests of right wing demonstrators had people in those groups timid. One dude told me he was worried about getting arrested. I've never seen the PB say that when they've come to Portland. 3b/
Joey Gibson then led a group on a long walkabout back across the river so people in his group could get back to their cars. During that, I saw lots of average Portlanders tell him and his group to gtfo. Not black bloc or antifa, just people walking or driving by. 4/
A few people offered support to Gibson et al, but they were very limited. 5/
It seemed like a few minor scuffles broke out at some point early in the day while I was with the group that crossed the bridge. Prop media (including folks I'm seeing who weren't even there) are focusing on these as if they were substantial. 6/
I'd recommend checking reports from local journalists who were on the ground at those clashes if you want an accurate account. 6b/
I'm seeing lots of bots tweeting about #PortlandProtest. Tons in my mentions for showing how small scale the conflict areas were compared to the rest of the city. As we should all know by now, there is a narrative being pushed here. 7/
Protesters on the left felt more reserved to me today too. Even when Proud Boys would get in their ranks (or vice versa), didn't seem like anyone wanted to throw that first punch. 8/
Last, there were a lot of police out. Portland staffed up for this and intervened quickly when things escalated. People will have their own opinions on that. Mostly, I'm glad no one got killed and this wasn't nearly as rough as some predicted it would be. 9/9
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.