Hundreds of Antifascists Rally Against the KKK In Portland

Report and video on recent antifascist mobilization in Portland against the KKK.

Last month Steven Shane Howard, a former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard, announced that he was holding a white-nationalist rally for the KKK in Portland on February 8th. This was quickly followed by a call from Rose City Antifa, PopMob, and other local organizations to gather as anti-fascists and oppose the KKK with a counter-protest. After Steven Shane Howard’s requests for barricades to protect his racist rally goers from the anti-fascists were denied he cancelled the rally on the morning of and hid out in his hotel room for the remainder of the day.

There were still concerns that the KKK or other far-right groups would make a showing so anti-fascists went on with their counter-protest and remained alert. Several far-right individuals and associated videographers came out to oppose the anti-fascists and they were quickly chased several blocks away.

As the counter-protest was coming to an end some participants decided to use spray paint to redecorate a war memorial celebrating soldiers that participated in a war that resulted in the death of 250,000-1,000,000 Filipino civilians. Bike police rushed into the park to arrest people involved in the graffiti and made one arrest from the crowd that had scattered.