The ranks of the supposed “Antifa army” of protesters against Trump administration immigration and domestic-militarization policies in Portland, Ore., swelled over the weekend with a new cohort that was not only unarmed, but also unclothed.
The Portland World Naked Bike Ride convened an off-season Emergency Naked Bike Ride that sent hundreds of mostly nude, two-wheeled cavalry through the city Sunday afternoon to protest Trump’s attempt to deploy the National Guard to the city in response to a nonexistent terror threat. A judge has temporarily blocked his order, and an appeals court decision is pending.
“We are using this protest to bring attention to the Militarization of Portland and the ongoing and escalating harm that is happening to our immigrant and indigenous communities,” World Naked Bike Ride Portland said in an Instagram post. “We ride to protest the militarization of our city.”
Belying the Trump administration’s rhetoric casting the state’s largest city as a burning hellhole, the cyclists showed the resistance will not be deterred — or dressed. Despite a near-steady rain and temperatures in the 50s, cyclists in varying stages of undress set out from the city’s convention center, staged a “die-in” at a bridge, and wound their way to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
They joined the ongoing demonstration underway since June that has included dancing frog- and chicken suited protesters (with dinosaur, unicorn, axolotl and banana costumes also in the mix), a unicycling bagpiper, a clutch of journalists, and irate residents. One rider snagged an interview with comedian Jordan Klepper of “The Daily Show.”
Chanting, dancing to hip-hop music and belting out show tunes, they’ve faced off against camo-clad federal agents known to let tear gas and pepper balls fly.
“This is a very peaceful form of protest,” World Naked Bike Ride Portland said in its Instagram post. “Joy is a form of protest. Being together with mutual respect and kindness is a form of protest.”
The protests have been more rowdy than aggressive, according to Oregon Public Radio, even with a couple of dozen arrests. One Portland Police Bureau assistant chief even indicated in court that federal police were the ones “instigating” at least some of the clashes, The Oregonian reported last month.
With News Wire Services
