Last updated on March 5, 2023
Moms United for Black Lives scheduled a protest for 10/25/2020 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The poster for the event claimed they were going to “fuck shit up in Lake Oswego”. I decided to use the event to try out my new camera equipment.
Multiple times over the 4 hours I was filming, I was accosted by the event’s security team and other random people inside the protest. They demanded I put a mask on, even though I was around 20 feet from the group. When I wouldn’t, they demanded I leave. They repeatedly blocked me from walking around in public by jumping into my path and running into me. They blocked my cameras, even though their side was recording as well.
I only encountered one protester who was willing to have a calm conversation about the issues. A ways into our conversation, one of their security team tried to force me to move. The more reasonable protester explained to him that we were having a conversation and that he had approached me. The security person did not care and forced him to move anyway. I stayed where I was, which angered them even more.
At one point, a female protester who jumped in front of me multiple times while I was walking claimed that I had touched her breast. She then began yelling this to other nearby protesters in an attempt to cause an altercation. Her group then harassed me and blocked my cameras for quite a while.
While passing a cafe on the protest route, this same female and many others accosted a local female resident who was trying to drink her coffee. She was filming them because they were arguing with a Trump supporter in the street in front of the cafe. They verbally abused her, demanded she put a mask on even though she was drinking and tried to force her to say “Black Lives Matter”.
Overall, the protest ended “peacefully” (without any rioting or damage caused), most likely due to the large amount of local residents watching the group and filming. These same residents were continually verbally berated, called racists and told they should be ashamed for being white.
The police were present, but generally maintained one block of distance from the protest. I saw multiple protester vehicles with taped over license plates. I saw no citations issued. Multiple protesters drove their motorcycles on the sidewalks, dangerously close to pedestrians. I saw no citations issued. The protesters repeatedly blocked the road and were very rarely told to move. At one point, a Trump supported had stopped his vehicle in the right lane near the protest and was engaging verbally with the protesters. Lake Oswego Police forced him to move. Why the double standard? Probably because he won’t destroy the town in response.
I spoke with one local couple who had heard of the protest ahead of time and asked their friends about it. They told me that everyone thought it was a hoax or no big deal. Groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa will continue this behavior, bringing it further and further into the suburbs as they go. If no one is their to hold them accountable, they will make good on their promise to “fuck shit up” and your town will burn just like Portland, Kenosha and Philadelphia.
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