On Saturday, June 30th, the far-right organization Patriot Prayer came out in Portland, Oregon to hold a rally and march.  The organization has been known for its allyship with white nationalist, patriot, and fascist organizations, and is now made up predominantly of violent Proud Boys.  Over the last two years, Patriot Prayer has repeatedly held their violent events in Portland while being rejected by the city at large.  Last June, after Patriot Prayer follower Jeremy Christian murdered two people in an Islamophobic rage on a Portland train, Patriot Prayer decided to still hold their public rally despite desperate pleas against it from the community.  They were met with 4,000 protesters from dozens of organizations, showing a unified voice against their hateful agenda.

#DefendPDX #antifa pic.twitter.com/bBAtoZNnL7

— Storm 🏴 (@xBc26x) July 1, 2018

Since then Patriot Prayer has only gotten more violent, even though its leader, Joey Gibson, believes he could be elected for Senate in Washington.  On June 3rd they came out to Portland with nothing on the agenda other than fighting people, and after antifascists pushed them back they were unable to complete their march.  On June 30th they came back to “stand their ground,” which meant bringing in Proud Boy crews from multiple states prepared for violence.  They pushed their march into counter protesters where they began attacking them in gang-style beatings, leaving many people in the hospital after cruel assaults.  Antifascists again stopped their march from continuing and overwhelmed their numbers, and several antifascists are also facing criminal charges for these defensive action.

Between the medical and legal costs, they need people’s support now!  Below is a fundraiser controlled by Portland Anarchist Black Cross that will go to support those protesters affected by what happened on June 30th from multiple organizations.  The money will go directly to their support, so you can count on it getting to the people that need it.

Please donate if you can and share widely!  They need our help!

Click Here to Donate to the Fundraiser for Portland Antifascists