Portland police arrest a protester who skated past a police barricade during an afternoon of protests in downtown Portland on Sunday, June 4, 2017.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
There was a heavy police presence at Portland's Terry Schrunk Plaza Sunday, June 4, 2017, as a planned Trump Free Speech Rally was met with several counter protests a week after three men were stabbed, two fatally, on a TriMet light-rail train. The suspect in the stabbing had been on an anti-Muslim rant prior to his attack.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
A 2017 file photo of Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson addressing a crowd at a rally and holding a moment of silence for the victims of the Portland MAX train stabbings.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
A counter protest group chants, "Take your hate, and go away" outside City Hall in downtown Portland. Several counter protest groups showed up Sunday to opposed the Trump Free Speech Rally in Terry Schrunk Plaza.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
A Portland man known as Pork Chop burns an Antifa flag at a Trump Free Speech Rally Sunday, June 4, 2017.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Ibrahim Mubarak, with Right 2 Survive, was part of the large group of counter protests opposing a Trump Free Speech Rally in Terry Schrunk Plaza Sunday, June 4, 2017. "This country is freedom for everybody," he said. "I have a right to be a Muslim and walk the streets without being attacked."
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Police dressed in riot gear formed barricades between opposing protest groups, restricting movement between downtown Portland streets Sunday, June 4, 2017.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
The scene at a peaceful counter protest in front of Portland City Hall where protesters sang and chanted in opposition to the Trump Free Speech Rally across the street.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
A pair of bikers for Trump during the Trump Free Speech Rally, Sunday, June 4, 2017.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Multiple counter protests were underway in downtown Portland Sunday, June 4, 2017, including this group demanding rent control.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Men acting as private security for the pro-Trump crowd at Sunday's rallies wore military-style attire, complete with body armor. Organizers of the event say these men volunteered their services.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
A protester at the Trump Free Speech Rally holds up a sign in opposition to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Sunday, June 4, 2017. One thing both the pro-Trump crowd and the crowd of counter-protesters shared in common was animosity for Portland's mayor.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
There was a heavy police presence at Terry Schrunk Plaza and nearby Chapman Square Sunday for the Trump Free Speech Rally and the numerous counter protests that popped up to oppose the rally.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
"I'm here to support our president, Donald J. Trump and to support freedom of speech," said Martha Pena at the Trump Free Speech Rally Sunday. Pena, a Mexican-American immigrant, said she hoped to "make people of America aware that their freedom of speech is in jeopardy."
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
After police say a group of Antifa protesters hurled objects at officers, law enforcement declared their counter-protest unlawful and began firing flash grenades and pepper balls on the crowd to get them to disperse. After being pushed out of Chapman Square, protesters linked arms and formed a standoff with police.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Gregory McKelvey, the leader of Portland protest group Portland's Resistance, was among the crowd of counter-protesters who tried to engage the pro-Trump crowd Sunday, June 4, 2017. "This is what America is all about," he said of the opposing protests. "Both sides get to have their freedom of speech, both sides get to have their voices heard."
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Carson Hardly handed out free Oregon strawberries to counter protesters Sunday. "Life is better with strawberries in it," she said. "They're Oregon strawberries," she said.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Wendy, 72, a Trump supporter from Dallas, Oregon said, "My children are going to have a screaming fit when they find out I've been here."
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Protesters sing "No hate, no fear. Immigrants are welcome here," in front of Portland City Hall.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
A protester holds a sign reading "Be like Micah." Micah Fletcher was one of three men stabbed last week on a MAX train.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
A counter-protester covers his ears after Portland police deployed flash-bang grenade on a group of anti-fascist protesters opposing the Trump Free Speech Rally. Police declared this counter protest an unlawful gathering and forced the protesters to retreat north.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Protest in downtown Portland, Sunday, June 4, 2017.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Police dressed in riot gear mobilize to follow a group of counter-protesters marching north on Portland's Southwest 4th Avenue. Police eventually pinned the marching crowd in, where they detained dozens of people, including several journalists.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Related: Man Confirms Officers Asked For Help Arresting Portland Protester
Portland Police and federal officers have been under scrutiny for some of the tactics they used this past weekend
to manage crowds at competing left- and right-wing rallies
.
Video and photographs from the scene, including shots by OPB digital producer Bryan M. Vance, show members of self-styled militia groups such as the Oath Keepers and the III Percent United Patriots helping federal law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security detain at least one counter-demonstrator.
While Portland officers did not appear to be directly involved with the citizen-assisted arrests, Police Chief Mike Marshman addressed those arrests Tuesday on OPB’s "Think Out Loud."
“It’s not uncommon if an officer is struggling with somebody or trying to arrest somebody, for a member of the public to come up and either render assistance, or just ask. So that’s not that uncommon," Marshman said.
A member of the Oath Keepers helps police officers detain a protester during the dueling rallies in Portland, Oregon, June 4, 2017.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
"Though, that said, I understand where at times it might look bad or there’s going to be competing interests placed on us,” he added.
Gregory McKelvey, an organizer for Portland's Resistance, took to Medium on Monday to say Portland police stood by and watched as the self-styled militia groups tackled people.
"They were working with the police," McKelvey said. "As in tackling people, handcuffing people, and clearing entire areas. The cops acted as if the alt-right was Portland’s Justice League of vigilantes."
The Portland Mercury also reported Tuesday that the U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing at least one arrest that a militia member assisted.