In Portland, Oregon, one person was shot dead Saturday at a pro-Trump caravan rally. The man who was killed was wearing a hat with the insignia of far-right group Patriot Prayer. The identity of the shooter is still unknown. Before the fatal shooting, the pro-Trump caravan clashed with antiracist protesters who have been taking to the streets for three straight months following the police killing of George Floyd. In the span of several hours early Sunday, President Trump unleashed a tweetstorm in which he, among other things, retweeted conspiracy theories about the protests being a coup to remove him from office. He also attacked Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. This is Mayor Wheeler responding to Trump Sunday.
Mayor Ted Wheeler: “It’s you who have created the hate and the division. It’s you who have not found a way to say the names of Black people killed by police officers, even as people in law enforcement have. And it’s you who claimed that white supremacists are good people. Your campaign of fear is as anti-democratic as anything you’ve done to create hate and vitriol in our beautiful country.”
In related news, an appeals court last week halted an order protecting journalists and legal observers in Portland from being removed by federal agents.