Shocking moment a flash-bang grenade is thrown into right-wing Patriot Prayer rally, igniting violent clashes with Antifa in Portland
Four were arrested after violent clashes between Patriot Prayer and Antifa in Portland on Saturday
Pro-Trump group said it organized the ‘free speech’ march to protest police failing to protect its events
Antifa call the group racist and were seen throwing objects before a melee broke out between the sides
Police revoked the marchers’ permit after the riot broke out and confiscated a number of weapons
By KEITH GRIFFITH
DAILYMAIL.COM
1 July 2018
This is the moment a flash-bang grenade appears to go off amid a Patriot Prayer march in Portland, seconds before a melee between the right-wing group and Antifa.
Four people were arrested amid the violence on Saturday, which broke out when the pro-Trump group’s scheduled march encountered an opposing group associated with a second nearby rally.
Neither rally was directly related to President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, which drew peaceful protests elsewhere in Portland and across the country on Saturday.
Police said four people were transported to area hospitals by ambulance, three with non serious injuries and one with a serious but non-life threatening injury. One police officer also suffered what was believed to be a non-serious and non-life-threatening injury as a result of being struck by a projectile.
‘They were throwing rocks, they were throwing bottles, you need to tell the truth,’ one middle-aged woman in a Make America Great Again hat said after the clashes, addressing media in remarks caught on camera.
‘No one on our side did anything violent, everything was self defense,’ she claimed. ‘You guys have to stop it because you’re encouraging these people to come down here and try to murder us.’
Organizers of the Patriot Prayer rally said it was to protest the lack of police protection from left-wing groups at prior events in Portland.
‘The nation is EXTREMELY angry about how Portland citizens treated Freedom Loving Americans who marched in the streets of this dangerous city,’ the group said in an invitation to the event.
Antifa groups called Patriot Prayer a fascist and racist group. Patriot Prayer leaders have denounced racism and say their events are open to all races.
Cops released photos of seized weapons including bear mace, clubs, gloves with reinforced knuckles, batons, knives and handgun clips. It is unclear which side the weapons were seized from.
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