Riot trial opens for Patriot Prayer’s Joey Gibson, 2 others

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Three years after they were charged for their alleged role in a Portland brawl, the trial for three far-right demonstrators with histories of violence on the city’s streets began on Monday. In opening statements, prosecutors argued that Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson and co-defendants Russell Schultz and MacKenzie Lewis instigated a street fight in front of a Portland bar called Cider Riot on May 1, 2019.

The three defendants each face a single charge of riot, a felony in Oregon.

Evidence in the case amounts to a series of videos taken before and during the fight. Deputy District Attorney Brad Kalbaugh told the jury this case is a video trial about a street brawl.

“You’ll see Russell Schultz standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Gibson as Mr. Lewis is throwing projectiles back into that group of people,” Kalbaugh said in his opening statement. “As you watch the videos from different angles, you’ll see Mr. Schultz and Mr. Gibson acting to, not break up the fight, but to keep the violence going.”

Defense attorneys for Gibson, Schultz and Lewis argued that their clients’ activity in front of Cider Riot that day was protected speech and that others in the crowd were responsible for the violence

Gibson’s defense attorney, Angus Lee, who called the day a “strange protest” rather than a riot, told jurors that once they see all the videos, they will see that Gibson is completely innocent and that it was another man, Ian Kramer, who was there with the far-right group, responsible for the worst of the violence.

“Despite being spat upon, kicked, slapped and slashed at with a knife, Mr. Gibson did not respond with any violent act,” Lee said. “Mr. Gibson repeatedly told people, ‘Don’t throw things, put your weapons away.’ My client and Mr. Schultz – they went there for their protest. Ian Kramer went there for his.”

Portland Police Detective Christopher Traynor later testified the weapon in the video was not a knife but an asp, or collapsible baton.

Schultz’s attorney, Brian Schmonsees, told the jury in his opening statement that rather than egg on any of the violence, Schultz attempted to calm the situation.

“He’s not wearing gloves, he’s not wearing a helmet. He’s not carrying a weapon. He doesn’t have mace,” Schmonsees said. “You’re going to see him engage in de-escalation techniques. You’re never going to see Mr. Schultz engage in any violent act.”

Gibson founded Vancouver-based Patriot Prayer, a far-right group that spent years organizing “free speech rallies” and provoking violent confrontations in downtown Portland and several other West Coast cities. A 2016 disorderly conduct charge was ultimately dropped. This is the first time he has stood trial for his violent provocations.

Video of the 2019 brawl and several minutes leading up to it show the far right group preparing for violence as they make plans to confront anti-fascists at Cider Riot, the now closed bar where the alleged riot unfolded. Members of the group are seen carrying a brick, swinging a wooden dowel and checking wind direction to avoid macing themselves.

Defendant MacKenzie Lewis is seen putting on a helmet and gloves with hard plastic knuckles.

When Gibson and the group arrived at Cider Riot, the video shows him taunting the antifascists on the bar patio, telling them to “do something.”

“It’s a bit of tomfoolery, essentially,” Gibson’s attorney said of the taunting.

A brawl ensued. The groups sprayed mace at each other and threw objects. Other members of the far-right group who previously pleaded guilty were captured on video knocking a woman unconscious with a baton, fracturing her vertebrae, and throwing a rock and injuring a woman.

As the fight breaks out, the video shows Gibson yelling, “Oh no, a riot. A riot at Cider Riot,” Gibson said. “They took the bait, oh no.”

Gibson then allegedly orchestrated a one-on-one fight between a Cider Riot security guard and a member of the far-right group.

Gibson, Lewis and Schultz were indicted in August 2019. In the intervening years, Gibson has filed motions to change judges and to change venue, arguing he can’t get a fair trial in Multnomah County. The case was originally assigned to Judge Leslie Bottomly, sister of Oregonian/OregonLive top editor and vice president for content Therese Bottomly. The motion to change judges was granted while the venue change was denied. Gibson and Schultz also filed a motion to dismiss the charges alleging they were being selectively prosecuted.

The two sued Kalbaugh and Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt in federal court alleging the same. Lawyers pointed to Schmidt’s decision not to prosecute riot charges stemming from the 2020 racial justice protests as evidence that Gibson and his co-defendants were being treated differently. That lawsuit was dismissed.

During pre-trial motions last week, lawyers sparred over how much of the video from the May Day street fight would be presented at trial. Defense attorneys fought to exclude entire videos showing the time before the fight, arguing the defendants were not in many of them and the videos could prejudice a jury.

Anti-fascist researchers allege that Lewis was involved in a violent assault on an anti-fascist demonstrator during Aug. 22, 2021 street clashes in the Parkrose neighborhood.

For years, Schultz was active with Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys, a separate violent far-right group whose members have engaged in violence across the country, including Portland, and which played a central role in the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. In January 2019, Schultz and Gibson announced a “demask Antifa” movement meant to remove the anti-fascist protesters’ face coverings, photograph them, and post the photos online.

Prosecutors argued the videos showed the defendants’ mental states and that they were preparing to engage in violence, contradicting the argument that they were simply going to Cider Riot to engage in discourse or speech.

Ultimately, the judge ruled that the jury can see some sections of the pre-brawl video, with large portions of the audio excluded since it includes narration by the person filming which might bias the jury and does not necessarily represent the defendants’ views.

The 12-person jury, plus two alternates, is composed of 11 women and three men. If convicted, Gibson, Schultz and Lewis face up to five years in prison.