Portland is gearing up for another packed Saturday as dozens of “No Kings” rallies across Oregon are expected to pull in big crowds. Organizers and local groups say the statewide day of action will feature marches, banner drops from highway overpasses, and smaller “occupy your corner” visibility events in towns from the coast to the Willamette Valley. In Portland, major staging areas include the Battleship Memorial at Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the plaza outside the Oregon Convention Center.
Where protests are planned
Demonstrations are on the books in coastal cities such as Astoria, Seaside, Newport, and Lincoln City, along with Willamette Valley hubs including Salem, Eugene, Silverton, and Corvallis. Suburban meetups are set for Beaverton, Troutdale, Tigard, and Hillsboro, according to The Oregonian. That reporting notes that some Hillsboro organizers intend to drop banners on U.S. 26 before marching along Northwest 185th Avenue, and that Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read is scheduled to speak at a Beaverton event.
How big this could be
National organizers and analysts say Saturday could rank among the largest single-day nonviolent protest efforts in recent U.S. history. AP News reports that more than 3,100 events are planned, with a flagship rally set for St. Paul. Axios notes that organizers have mapped thousands of local actions nationwide and that Portland drew an estimated 40,000 people at last fall’s No Kings march.
Local tactics and routes
In the Portland metro area, Indivisible chapters and allied groups have organized an overpass banner campaign, placing teams along I-5, I-205, I-84, and U.S. 26, according to local event listings at Indivisible. Some organizers are also planning a caravan that will start in Troutdale and wind through the metro area with decorated vehicles.
Many volunteers are being asked to hold steady, highly visible posts at neighborhood intersections earlier in the day, then head into larger downtown rallies later on. Organizers are emphasizing nonviolent conduct and say safety teams and marshals will be in place.
Legal and policing context
A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an emergency hold that affects use-of-force restrictions at the ICE facility in South Portland, a move that organizers and legal observers say could shape how federal officers respond to demonstrations. The Oregonian reported on the order.
During previous No Kings demonstrations, local coverage noted that police and federal officers sometimes used crowd-control munitions around ICE sites, even as city officials continued to say they wanted peaceful marches, OPB reported.
What to expect Saturday
People in and around Portland should plan for transit slowdowns and intermittent lane or ramp closures near downtown, the Rose Quarter, and other key gathering spots. Organizers and the event map posted at NoKings.org list specific start times and meeting locations…