A national day of action brought roughly 300 demonstrators to Springfield City Hall, where armed counter-demonstrators drew tense exchanges before protests later escalated in Eugene
A national day of protest was declared across the country Jan. 30, and Lane County answered with demonstrations in Springfield and Eugene — beginning with a tense confrontation outside Springfield City Hall and ending hours later with tear gas and a shattered window at Eugene’s Federal Building.
The Springfield demonstration marked one of the most visibly tense immigration-related protests the city has seen in recent years, drawing armed counter-demonstrators. While Springfield police did not deploy crowd-control measures or appear in tactical gear, patrol vehicles were positioned to block portions of nearby streets as officers monitored the situation. The presence of armed counter-demonstrators in a civic space turned what began as a local protest into a flashpoint, setting the tone for a day of escalating confrontations that later unfolded in Eugene.
The Springfield protest began at 2 pm outside City Hall and the adjacent Springfield Public Library, where around 300 demonstrators gathered with signs and chants opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. What started as a peaceful demonstration quickly became heated when the small group of armed counter-demonstrators arrived, shifting the atmosphere of the event…