A group of conservative Oregonians called for a convoy of trucks to show up at the state capitol to enact a repeat of what happened in Ottawa. I stopped by to check it out. There were more pizzas than people. There were more people in Proud Boy regalia than there were trucks.
The sponsor was an offshoot of Timber Unity, the "grassroots" group that had organized a much larger and louder truck convoy in June 2019 that was part of the effort to squash a cap and trade bill. It was notable that the Proud Boy flag was displayed right next to the stage.
It basically felt like a very low energy and low attendance Trump rally. Tho this rendition of Trump’s theme song was pretty competent.
Something tells me the merch booths didn't recoup their expenses for the day.
This fella gets points for confidence.
This pretty much captures the vibe. For context, I was there at noon, and from what I can tell that was pretty much the high point of the day--a few scattered people waving at one of the five trucks that drove around the block for hours honking loudly.
This is the June 2019 scene they were trying to replicate, but fell fall short of.
There was one GOP walkout today, and it was by Senator Dallas Heard (chair of the OR GOP) who was kicked out of the Senate for his refusal to wear a mask.
He then walked out to the gathering and spoke to the crowd. This is the same stage that had a Proud Boy flag just off to the right, but it's not shown in this picture. I don't know if it was still present or had been taken down to avoid bad optics.
There were three or four politicians who'd set up booths at the event. This was one of them. cnn.com/2020/08/22/pol…
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