Thread by @catalinagaitan_

Heading downtown tonight? Here's a primer on Portland's protest shields! 🛡 Where are they coming from, how are they made and who is making them? 🤔 A thread: 🧵

(Quick note: to protect that anonymity of volunteers and organizers, faces and tattoos are not included in any of the photographs in this thread unless consent was given. We’re using first names only here, too.)

If you’ve seen photos and video of protests happening in downtown Portland, you’ve probably spotted one of @ghostmobpdx’s and @viv___________'s shields in action. 🛡 (Maybe you saw this video where a police baton bounces right off?

https://twitter.com/ricosroughneck3/status/1284798066743107585

- by @ricosroughneck3)

(Or perhaps this one, where a shield deflects a munition?

https://twitter.com/tuckwoodstock/status/1285128037277683712

- by @tuckwoodstock)

Two weeks ago, these shields were getting built by 3 people in a garage. Today, an assembly line of over 25 volunteers (and two dogs 🐶) gathered at Clinton Park in Southeast Portland to help put them together.

Using Twitter to coordinate, volunteers gather 3 times a week (location announced the night before) to build these shields. All materials – including duct tape, power tools and pool noodles – are donated (along with everything on this extremely packed snack and supply table).

So how does a protest shield get made? 🤔

Step 1.) Acquire a 55-gallon barrel. (In the beginning, Ghost (@ghostmobpdx) was buying these barrels – which once carried liquids like soy sauce and canola oil – off of Craiglist. Now all of the barrels are donated.)

Step 2.) Remove the barrel lid. Using a circular saw, a volunteer slices the barrel into four sections. You now have five soon-to-be shields! 🛡🛡🛡🛡🛡

Step 3.) Using a hand drill, a different volunteer makes 6 holes in the center of the plastic. (Shield building sessions are BYOPT: Bring Your Own Power Tools.🛠️🧰)