Skip to main content
What Lake Oswego's march in support of President Donald Trump lacked in size, it made up for in venom.
For weeks, Trump supporters pledged that the "March 4 Trump" in this affluent Clackamas County town would show the grassroots love for the self-styled nationalist president in the suburbs surrounding Portland. It was organized by vocal pro-Trump businessman Kevin Kerwin (he later dropped out), and timed to coincide with marches across the country.
But only about 150 Trump supporters showed up today in George Rogers City Park wearing red "Make America Great Again" hats. They were met by a gathering of anti-Trump protesters. The event quickly devolved into shouting matches, and worse.
A woman protesting against Trump tried to disrupt the march with high-pitched shrieking. Trump supporters began making animal noises at the disruptive women, surrounding her in a circle, hooting and grunting as cameras rolled. One man raised his right arm at her, in what looked like a Nazi salute. (Update, 6:45 pm: Witnesses later said he was praying for her, and video suggests that he may have been trying to "lay on hands" to pray.)
When a group of black-clad anti-Trump protesters arrived in the park, the crowd was already irate.
"You're all [n-word] and Jews," a man yelled at the counter-protesters. Pushing and shoving broke out.
A Trump supporter named Chris Johnson says he was "blind-sided" in the melee, and hit in the back of the head with a stick. Lake Oswego police made several arrests. As they did so, the marchers chanted, "Blue lives matter!"
The March 4 Trump set out through the streets of Lake Oswego.It was greeted by an anti-Trump march that had started on the other side of town.
It soon stagnated into a standoff with counter-protesters, with each side yelling invective at the other.
President Trump, meanwhile, is in Mar-a-Largo, Fla., tweeting about The Apprentice and Barack Obama wiretapping his office building.
