‘No Kings’ rallies draw thousands across the Pacific Northwest

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OPB reporters covered “No Kings” protests in Portland, Newberg and Hillsboro on Saturday, June 14, and we also be worked with news partners to provide coverage from across the Pacific Northwest. Here’s how demonstrations unfolded throughout the day.

Update: Monday, June 16, 10:13 a.m.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson issued a statement after Saturday’s protests estimating that 50,000 people participated in the city’s downtown demonstration. According to the Portland Police Bureau, nobody was arrested during the event, which police described as “a large-scale free speech gathering and march.”

After the “No Kings”event concluded, a smaller demonstration at Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building involved clashes between federal officers and protesters who attempted to break into the building. City police and federal officers made some arrests

Related: Portland mayor waves off federal help after Saturday protest at ICE building

Update: 6:06 p.m.

When organizers began to plan for “No Kings” protests, they were motivated by the massive military parade President Donald Trump scheduled for his 79th birthday.

But by the time protesters around the country, and across the Northwest, showed up to rallies, many were more focused on immigration than on the president’s planned display of military power.

Over the past week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have arrested 2,000 people per day.

Among Northwest residents who have been recently detained are a prominent church leader and business owner from Newberg, and a family of six including a pregnant mother from Washington state.

Concern over the demonization of immigrants and federal immigration policy drew Marshall Cho to Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park with his child and niece.

Cho arrived in the U.S. from South Korea when he was 10 years old. He said the country took him in and gave him opportunities, but more recently he’s seen the word “immigrant” become a point of contention.

“This is a personal attack. It’s an attack on me. It’s an attack on my family,” he said. As he spoke, people in the crowd around him chanted: “Immigrants are welcome here.”

“All these people who are standing up and speaking up, it’s super motivating and drives me to think on ways to be more active,” Cho said.

He said he hopes Saturday’s protests inspire more people to speak out and stand up for the vulnerable.

Update: 5:25 p.m.

Yamhill County voted 51% for President Donald Trump last year.

Anne Mildenberger has been organizing rallies in Newberg, Oregon, since February. But Saturday’s “No Kings” rally felt different.

She had never seen this many people gather, or heard this much honking.

“I look around and I see all of this conservative population that we thought was conservative here supporting their neighbors,” she said. “And there’s something about this kind of support that lets you know that you’re not alone.

Hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown Newberg near a tall flagpole waving the American flag.

Many people drove by and gave thumbs-up, while some drivers waved Trump hats even yelled at protesters.

Update: 4:56 p.m.

OPB reporter Joni Auden Land spent much of Saturday reporting on “No Kings” rallies. They spoke to “Morning Edition” host Lillian Karabaic from Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park about what they saw.

Click play below to hear about a peaceful but angry crowd, an event that drew people of all ages and backgrounds, the relatively light police presence, and more.

Update 4:19 p.m.

Daytime protests in the Northwest were largely peaceful on Saturday. But “No Kings” protests in Minnesota were canceled after a state representative and her husband were shot and killed, and a state senator and his wife were injured.

Politicians in the Northwest condemned what has been described as a political assassination.

“I am horrified and sickened by the targeted, political assassination and shooting of elected leaders and their spouses in Minnesota last night,” Oregon House Republican Leader Christine Drazan of Canby said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

“The America we love is wounded by these acts of violence,” Drazan said. “I pray for the families and loved ones of Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and for a swift recovery for Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.”

Earlier in the day, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued a statement condemning the shootings, and a representative of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, spoke out against the political violence at Portland’s “No Kings” demonstration.

Update: 3:23 p.m.

In Portland, the “No Kings” march showed no signs of letting up as of mid-Saturday afternoon.

More than 10,000 people filled Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Thousands streamed down Naito Parkway, with many chanting against the Trump administration.

Politicians and community leaders took turns at a microphone rallying the crowd. Some protesters also marched across the Hawthorne Bridge.

In Yachats on the Oregon Coast, protesters lined both sides of Highway 101 near the local community library, holding signs that read “No Kings” and “Wake up America.”

Protesters in Eugene left the city’s federal courthouse midday to march through downtown, according to OPB partner KLCC. They filled the city’s Fifth Avenue carrying American flags, posters with political slogans, and effigies portraying President Donald Trump as a villain. Marchers stopped periodically to let traffic through.

In Seattle, a huge crowd convened for that city’s protest. Attorney Noah Purcell, the state’s solicitor general, led a chant, “follow the damn law,” according to OPB reporting partner KUOW. Several people carried a plus-sized banner emblazoned with an image of the preamble to the United States constitution.

In the Southern Oregon town of Medford, thousands of people lined both sides of East McAndrews Road for over half a mile, reporting partner Jefferson Public Radio reported.

Some Medford protesters participated from decorated cars while carrying signs. One driver waved American flags and smiled from a car painted with the words “No Kings.”

Counter-protesters, meanwhile, painted their vehicles as well. One truck was seen driving by painted with pro-Trump messaging as a passenger waved a flag that read “Trump 2024 the return. Make liberals cry.”

Update: 1:32 p.m.

In Newberg, Oregon, where the owner of a vineyard management business and one of his employees were both arrested by federal immigration officials earlier in the week, hundreds of people gathered near the entry to downtown on Saturday.

People waved American flags — some that were turned upside down in a symbol of distress.

Yamhill County Commissioner Bubba King, who participated in the protest, said he knew one of the people who was arrested, and he felt that the local business had been targeted.

In a county where a majority of voters backed President Donald Trump, King said, he believes support for immigrants can cross party lines.

“There are Republicans that care about this and understand that these are our neighbors. These are our friends. Our kids go to school with their kids,” King told OPB reporter Alejandro Figueroa.

“My grandparents were Hispanic and this is something that they fought a long time ago so that I wouldn’t have to,” he said. “As an elected official I want to show my support, no matter what it takes.”

Jessica Garcia said she protested alone on Thursday when she heard that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested two immigrants in the community where she was born and raised — and she was amazed to be joined by hundreds of fellow Newberg residents on Saturday.

“It’s beautiful to see my community come together,” she said. “From white to Mexican, from Black to all kinds of people in this world. It’s awesome to know that Newberg is about it. Newberg is going to fight.”

Newberg resident Courtney Robinson was also there, at what she said was her first protest.

“We’re not super politically out there,” she said, and she wasn’t sure what to expect when turning out at a rally in a politically diverse community. “But fascism doesn’t have a side, and we definitely don’t want that here.”

Many drivers honked in appreciation of that city’s “No Kings” demonstration, but approval was far from universal. Some people gave a thumbs-down gesture as they drove past, and a handful pulled over to argue with protesters.

Robinson saw one person approach and swear at the protesters. “This guy right here is saying ‘F all of you guys,’” she said. “Nope. This is bigger than one guy.”

Update: 12:47 p.m.

As Saturday progressed, thousands of people gathered across Oregon, including in the state’s two most populous cities.

At the steps of Eugene’s federal courthouse, people rallied and marched on nearby streets wearing “No Kings” T-shirts and carrying banners and signs.

Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park hosted what’s likely to be the state’s biggest “No Kings” protest.

People waved American flags and held signs. At a microphone in front of the Battleship Oregon Memorial, people sang patriotic songs, and a representative from U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office read a prepared statement from the senator decrying political violence in Minnesota.

Update: 12:04 p.m.

Early reports from organized “No Kings” protests in Oregon and Washington were of peaceful and energetic rallies as of late-morning Saturday. But news from Minnesota, where a state lawmaker was killed and another was injured in what some have called a politically targeted assassination, put some people on edge.

Police officials across the Northwest said they were hoping for a day of peaceful protest.

In Portland and Multnomah County, law enforcement officials stressed that they will be out in force this weekend, but declined to offer specifics about their strategies for policing the protests.

Portland Police Chief Bob Day said the bureau is trying to thread a delicate needle of monitoring protests without agitating the protesters themselves, OPB reporter Troy Brynelson reported.

“We take the temperature, we try not to escalate,” Day said on Friday. “We have such a heavy emphasis around de-escalation.”

Washington state officials also urged protesters to avoid violence and deprive Trump of any excuse for intervening, OPB partner KUOW reported.

“Don’t give Donald Trump an excuse to try and federalize the National Guard here in Washington state like he did in California,” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said from a city park in Seattle on Friday. ”He wants to be able to say we cannot handle our own public safety issues here in Washington state.”

Although there were no early reports of injuries, fresh graffiti was spotted on the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement building by mid-morning. Crews put up barricades earlier in the day, but some spray paint made it to windows on the structure. About 15 demonstrators stood outside the ICE facility, which has drawn near daily protests for weeks.

Update: 11:41 a.m.

Several thousand people gathered at Gretchen Fraser Neighborhood Park in Vancouver, Washington, Saturday morning. They marched down Mill Plain Boulevard, lining sidewalks, waving flags, and carrying signs with messages like “Due Process For All” and “Tyrants want your silence.”

Update: 10:09 a.m.

Marco Dominguez of Hillsboro joined protesters and sign-wavers in the city he calls home on Saturday morning. As cars honked support and people around him cheered, he described the scene: “We have grannies in walkers, old mommas wearing all purple, vets, and young kids,” he said. “I dig it.”

Dominguez said he showed up because of concerns about immigrant rights and due process for all people in the United States — “not just citizens,” as well as out of concern for economic stability.

Although he’s participated in protests in the past, this is his first demonstration of the year, and reflects a commitment to becoming more politically active, he said.

“I’m just trying to represent for my family and my kids, and all the people who couldn’t make it here, to say that we have shared values and we don’t like the way the government is skewing,” Dominguez said.

UPDATE: 9:57 a.m.

People started showing up early for a planned 10 a.m. downtown Hillsboro “No Kings” protest. “It is packed down here,” OPB reporter Joni Auden Land said from the scene. People lined up for multiple blocks along the city’s Southeast 10th Avenue.

“Many are waving signs opposing the Trump administration, saying it has become increasingly authoritarian,” Auden Land reported.

UPDATE: 9:15 a.m.

Work crews met outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland around 9 a.m. Saturday to board up windows.

Fewer protesters gathered at the building Friday night than Thursday, when 10 people were arrested, but federal officers did fire less lethal weapons at those who did gather in the building’s driveway. At times, officers used tear gas.

UPDATE: 6 a.m.

Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration are set to rally in cities and towns across the U.S. during a military parade in Washington, D.C., Saturday to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with Trump’s birthday.

Organizers say these “No Kings” protests are set to counter what they are calling Trump’s plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday and Flag Day.

In Oregon, more than 50 “No Kings” demonstrations are scheduled, starting as early as 5:30 a.m. Washington state organizers have scheduled more than 80.

Nationwide, protests are expected in more than 2,000 locations, according to organizers.

These “No Kings” gatherings come after days of nationwide protests against federal immigration raids, including in Portland, in Spokane, and in Los Angeles — where Trump’s deployment of the National Guard further agitated his opponents.

The Trump administration has said the raids are necessary for removing “violent criminal illegal immigrants from communities.”

The “No Kings” protests are expected to be the largest anti-Trump demonstrations in the Pacific Northwest since the “Hands Off” rallies held more than two months ago.

This live blog includes reporting, photography and video from Ryan Haas, Joni Auden Land, Jeff Thompson, Erik Neumann, Lillian Karabaic, Alejandro Figueroa, Noah Thomas, OPB’s northwest news partners, and the Associated Press. It’s edited by Courtney Sherwood and digitally produced by Winston Szeto and Meagan Cuthill, with photo editing by Kristyna Wentz-Graff, and video production by Joey Lovato.