Rumors, which ultimately proved false, of an armed counter-protest brought an anti-Donald Trump vigil to an early end Sunday night and prompted TriMet to divert all bus and MAX lines away from downtown.
Reporters from The Oregonian/OregonLive were unable to find anyone other than police officers openly carrying firearms in downtown Portland.
The persistent rumor spoke to a city on edge after several nights of violence during anti-Trump demonstrations, including the shooting of a march participant and acts of vandalism that caused at least $1 million in damage. Police got pelted with bottles, and officers in riot gear resorted to flash bang grenades, rubber pepper balls and tear gas to quell crowds.
Leaders from the group Portland’s Resistance, which organized the vigil in response to the shooting, abruptly shut the gathering down, saying a group of open-carrying counter-protesters was on its way.
They said fireworks that suddenly launched nearby during the vigil were connected to the counter-protest.
The fireworks, it turned out, were set off from a river barge as part of a memorial for longtime city employee Don Gardner, who died in June. The display was permitted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
No group with guns showed up either at the site of the vigil or during roving protests in downtown that continued until about 10 p.m.
Vigil organizer Gregory McKelvey wouldn’t say where the report came from, but said that he and others had reason to believe it was true.
He added that he didn’t believe they had been deliberately misled.
“We had to treat it as credible no matter what for everyone’s safety,” he told The Oregonian/OregonLive in a Twitter message. McKelvey and others earlier said that protest leaders had received threats in recent days.
TriMet also reacted to the reports, suspending most bus and light-rail service in downtown Portland.
“Our understanding is that some protesters are openly carrying,” TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt said in an email while the protests were going on. “We understand that it is legal but for safety reasons and the fluid police activity, we have suspended most service in downtown Portland.”
The service disruption came right around the time a Trail Blazers let out at the Moda Center. Shuttle buses provided bridge service, but downtown riders were without transit service for about two hours.
The Portland Police Bureau’s Twitter feed, which has provided real-time accounts of most recent protests, made no mention of an open-carry march.
A spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry Monday morning.
Aftermath of shooting
Police, meanwhile, announced that an 18-year-old who had been arrested in the shooting and wounding of an anti-Trump protester early Saturday was being released, after further investigation determined he was not the suspect.
They instead arrested a 14-year-old boy and placed him in a juvenile detention home on charges of attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon. The driver of the car whose occupants confronted protesters is also charged in the case.
