President Donald Trump said Saturday that he is following closely the situation in Portland because of the possibility of street clashes between groups of the extreme right and the radical left, Antifa.
“Portland is being watched very carefully. Hopefully, the mayor can do his job correctly!” The president tweeted.
Trump also said that “ANTIFA is being seriously considered as a ‘TERRORIST ORGANIZATION'”, without giving any more details, in relation to the leftist groups that are defined as Antifa.
Several right-wing groups called for a rally starting at 11:00 am local time in this progressive bastion in the west coast of the United States under the slogan “End Domestic Terrorism”, alluding to local left groups, local press reported.
Radical leftist groups called for a counter-demonstration for this Saturday.
Portland, in the state of Oregon, is the base of numerous groups that define themselves as “anti-fascists”, like the Rose City Antifa.
Portland authorities did not receive authorization requests for any demonstration on Saturday, Tina Jones, a spokesman for the local police, said in a news conference.
The city mayor, Ted Wheeler, foresaw a strong police deployment to avoid clashes between the two camps and said there will be zero tolerance for possible acts of vandalism or violence.
Why do these clashes happen in Portland?
Opposition groups have met in Portland several times in recent years, sometimes the protests have become violent.
The demonstrations are so common in Portland in part because it is the center for anarchists and radical political groups, attracted by the city’s reputation for not intervening in protests and clashes in time to avoid tragedies.
“We are proud of our defense of these core values of the United States,” said Wheeler, the mayor, in the video earlier this month. However, he repeatedly stressed that the city did not want groups from other cities to fan the tensions.
Tarrio, the president of Proud Boys, said Friday he believed the city had created an environment in which leftist protesters could get away with it, which is partly why conservatives chose to organize the protest against Antifa in Portland . He added that his group planned to be peaceful unless its members were in imminent danger.
