Hundreds of cyclists in various states of undress braved the rainy streets of Portland on Sunday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump’s attempts to send National Guard troops to the city.
Meanwhile, a few hundred more marched from Elizabeth Caruthers Park in the South Waterfront to the nearby U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
“Whose streets? Our streets!” protestors chanted as they walked toward the facility with a huge banner that read “Abolish I.C.E.,” accompanied by a marching band dressed in banana costumes.
“I think it’s critically important to include joy, and that’s why we’re here,” said Miles Thompson, a 43-year-old electrical engineer who conducts and plays trumpet with the Unpresidential Brass Band. “We’re winning this narrative battle. We’re here to show we’re not terrorists.”
Rachel Langford joined the march and said she was protesting against ICE for the first time Sunday.
The 48-year-old said it was time to stop being a bystander. “I couldn’t just sit and watch it on my screen any more,” she said.
Langford said she’s felt frustrated by portrayals of Portland pushed by Trump and others and that residents have done a good job showing the weird and whimsical nature the city is known for.
“I think Portland has really met the moment,” she said.
Organizers of the World Naked Bike Ride scheduled an “emergency” ride Sunday to highlight “the militarization of Portland and the ongoing harm being done to immigrant and Indigenous communities,” according to a joint Instagram post.
Riders gathered outside the Oregon Convention Center under gray skies and in just 53 degree weather.
Some came exposed to the elements while others wore clear ponchos over their underwear. Others wore fairy wings and kilts or Halloween costumes including the jack-o’-lantern suit of “Saturday Night Live” character David S. Pumpkins.
“We’re cold, but not as cold as ICE,” said a sign on one rider’s back.
Cyclists followed a route south to the Burnside Bridge where they staged a “die-in,” lying down next to their bikes before continuing along their route.
Onlookers at the ICE facility cheered the cyclists as they reached the building around 4:15 p.m. Sunday. The riders paraded in front of federal officers on the roof in a fashion show of rain jackets, Halloween costumes and nothing at all.
Around 5 p.m., federal agents fired pepper balls into the crowd and detained two people.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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