Despite President Trump abandoning his plans to deploy the National Guard to Oregon, anti-Trump and anti-ICE protests rage on in the state, particularly in the city of Portland. One protest even grew more tense than usual after a man supposedly dressed like an ICE agent (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) started making threats and even pepper-spraying the reportedly peaceful anti-ICE protesters.
The incident reportedly occurred on March 21 outside the ICE facility in Portland, Oregon. In the video, you can see some protesters shouting at the unidentified man who appears to be aiming some kind of projectile weapon at a protester pointing a camera at him. The man, whom certain X users allege is “dressed like ICE,” eventually holstered his weapon, except he didn’t appear to have a holster, so he just placed the weapon back in his pockets.
Other angles of the altercation show the man pulling out his pepper spray and spraying protesters who got too close, though apart from that and some shoving, little to no physical injuries were sustained in the video. Still, you can hear some of the protesters shouting “put the gun away” at the man, with the cameraman even zooming in on the weapon.
The footage also shows Portland police mobile driving by with their sirens on, and some of the protesters shouting at the police to “Go get the guy who pulled a gun out on people! Do your job Portland Police!” However, certain accounts claim that the Portland police didn’t even stop to check the altercation.
People Online are Calling Out the Armed Man
The protest itself has sparked an online debate, with many people somehow defending the man who supposedly started trouble during the peaceful protest. Some even started criticizing the protesters online, glossing over how they almost got shot, “obviously you’re not intending to peacefully protest with a helmet and mask on,” argues an Instagram commenter.
At the same time, other commenters were more focused on the guy who brought weapons to a protest. As one commenter says, “So they show up, armed, to a peaceful protest for rage bait and clicks. Then they start attacking protestors with spray and throwing items. Seems like they should be arrested.”
For the record, it’s not clear if the protesters ever identified who the armed man was or if he was really an ICE agent or law enforcement. However, certain people online have accused him of having MAGA beliefs, as one Instagram commenter puts it, “I had a feeling something was gonna go down last night. MAGA seem desperate for attention.”
