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Oh, the humanity: https://bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla.bsky.soci...

Please, let's see many more protesters like these in #WarRavagedPortland

Oh, the humanity:

Have you seen the photos of the people who have the fishing rods with big donuts on the end of their lines, dangling them in front the fed thugs? They call it ICE Fishing.

And it's a beautiful thing.

Have you seen the photos of the people who have the fishing rods with big donuts on the end of their lines,

*Gasp!* That's worse than the demonstrators that put flowers in the muzzles of the rifles the National Guardsmen were pointing at them!

Steve

Have you seen the photos of the people who have the fishing rods with big donuts on the end of their lines, dangling them in front the fed thugs? They call it ICE Fishing.

Those photos are from 5 years ago in Denmark.

Those photos [of ICE fishing with donuts] are from 5 years ago in Denmark.

Does that include this photo? I can't find any details on it.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1868571110083520/p...

...answering my own question, one of the comments said this photo is a few years old, so not of our present ICE thugs.

Yes - it's at least five years old:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/54787706572/posts/...

They call it ICE Fishing.

And it's a beautiful thing.

They will never get a "keeper". They are all bottom feeders. So they gotta toss them on the shore and let them die rather than turn them loose to breed ever-more bottom feeders.

I thought people might like to see this perspective from The Oregonian newspaper.

NWVillager
(Digital subscriber to the Oregonian)


<blockquote>
October 12, 2025
Letter from the Editor
The Oregonian
Laura Gunderson
Editor and Vice President of Content

Dear reader,

Anyone paying an ounce of attention to President Donald Trump and his administration’s reactions to protests in Portland knows how confusing it has become.

Yet even people who know Trump is wrong when he calls the city a “war zone” that’s “burning to the ground” still have questions and — remembering 2020 — worry about protesters’ motivations.

Even people living a few blocks away from the ICE facility who support the idea of protests say it’s not exactly “nothing” that’s playing out nightly in their neighborhood.

And that’s true. Protests in South Portland are relatively calm and lack the persistent violence and vandalism we saw in 2020, yet they’re disruptive for local residents and businesses. Federal officers have used tear gas and pepper balls with seemingly no warning, but also when protesters don’t move quickly enough out of the facility’s driveway and entrance.

Here are some answers to readers’ questions and concerns based on our journalists’ interviews, photos and videos, and observations from protests at the ICE facility.

Reader: Although I am for peaceful protests whether by the right or left, I am against violent protests. A city can't solve a problem like out-of-control violence by Antifa, which has been going on for at least 6 years, until it admits it has a problem.

Oregonian: Our journalists who covered the 2020 protests regularly saw people wearing masks in all black. Some may have professed allegiance to a particular ideology" , such as Antifa, but they were a loose and often lawless bunch. Dozens of masked agitators regularly splintered off from protests and marches to set fires, break windows and vandalize buildings.

This year, our journalists have not seen such bad actors in the same volume or committing the same acts, by any stretch of the imagination. Since the first asylum-seeker was arrested in Portland in June, only one protest – on June 14 – was declared a riot after several people used a stop sign as a battering ram to shatter the ICE building’s glass front door. Portland police arrested three people.

There has been flag burning, but no other fires have been reported. And while they are more regularly wearing gas masks now, only a small group of people at the ICE building regularly try to hide their identity – even the guy in the frog costume comes without it at times. This year’s protesters are not overtly hostile to journalists and many provide their names when asked.

Reader: This chaos was not happening until President Trump announced that he was sending troops to Portland. Since then, the media has been hovering in their helicopters and on land. Could this constant presence of the media be part of the increase in violence and conflict?

Oregonian: It’s the government, not media outlets, flying helicopters over the ICE building. Federal flight tracking information showed at least a Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter, belonging to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and a light-utility Airbus Helicopter H125, belonging to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, have flown in and out of nearby Hillsboro Airport during the recent protests. People complained so much about the helicopters, the Port of Portland put an announcement on its noise complaint hotline describing what they are. And the City of Portland issued a funny social media alert,“What the heli?”: “This appears to be related to federal law enforcement and is not related to City activities or something we can control.”

Reader: I’ve been somewhat frustrated by coverage of the ICE protests by major media. Phrases like “clashes between protesters and federal agents” implies there is violence coming from both sides equally. Also, coverage often isn’t clear when talking about tear gas and pepper spray, that it is all coming from the feds.


Oregonian: On the first part, that can be hard to say. When journalists cover protests, they’re trying to do a lot at once: Interview people, take pictures, send notes to their editors and scan the ICE building for when federal officers come out – a time more likely for altercations. They can’t always see how a “clash” begins.


Sometimes, it’s because protesters don’t move quickly enough off the ICE driveway or the blue line demarking ICE property from the sidewalk. Or it’s because protesters scream or spit at officers. But our journalists also have witnessed federal officers hit, shove and spray tear gas and pepper balls on people who weren’t interfering with ICE traffic. Officers also have knocked people down and moved to arrest them – actions that sometimes cause people on the ground to push back or kick. Officers also may just start spraying tear gas or shoot pepper balls to get people to move back.


The second question is easier: Our journalists have only witnessed federal officers using tear gas or pepper balls.

Lastly, protesters have mostly been a non-violent group, though there have been altercations among them and especially since Trump’s attempts to send National Guard troops has encouraged more of his supporters to the scene. There have been yelling matches and a few fights, and one person stole a Trump supporter’s tripod. He tried to escape by swimming across the Willamette River but was later arrested.


Reader: With the increasing threats of violence against judges, why on earth would you publish the face of a judge who ruled on such a politically charged issue as the National Guard occupying our streets? That is unbelievably irresponsible.



Oregonian: As a news organization, our job is to share information. We consider each case individually when it’s possible our stories or pictures could cause harm. However, Judge Karin J. Immergut is a public figure. Since she was a part of an unfolding national news story, her picture also was distributed nationwide by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among others. Also, long before her controversial ruling last week, an internet search of her name called up pictures from a variety of websites and news stories, including our own 2018 write-up when Trump appointed her to the federal court.


Value these answers?


Because of the high interest and gravity of the situation, our team has created the newsletter, "ICE Protests in Portland," which will be available for the duration of this significant news event. At 3 p.m. every day, the newsletter will deliver straight to your email inbox all the latest links to coverage from The Oregonian/OregonLive newsroom, whose reporters and photographers are continuously monitoring developments...
 
Thanks for reading!
/<blockquote>

This year’s protesters are not overtly hostile to journalists and many provide their names when asked.

That's all I needed to read to see the bias here, lol. Katie Daviscourt and her black eye courtesy of the Mostly Peaceful Protestors would like a word.

And hilariously...not a single word about the residents who live across the streets who've had to put up with months of disturbances.

Dope: That's all I needed to read to see the bias here, lol. Katie Daviscourt and her black eye courtesy of the Mostly Peaceful Protestors would like a word.

Me: She said she chased down her attacker, had eyes on them for 35 minutes and the police refused to arrest them. Also, there's the case of the disappearing black eye. Maybe she didn't look hurt.

Me: I rate this - jury is still out.

https://boingboing.net/2025/10/09/the-incredible-d...

And hilariously...not a single word about the residents who live across the streets who've had to put up with months of disturbances.

SNIP And that’s true. Protests in South Portland are relatively calm and lack the persistent violence and vandalism we saw in 2020, yet they’re disruptive for local residents and businesses.

Me: Wrong on point 2.

I thought people might like to see this perspective from The Oregonian newspaper.

Thank you for posting that. :)

I rate this - jury is still out.

Yeah, don't care.

Wrong on point 2.

Yeah, really don't care. The people who live there (and who sued to make the PPB actually enforce the law) don't care what you think.

Dope's point 3.

Yeah, don't care.

Wrong on point 2.

Yeah, really don't care.

If you don't care, then you don't post. Wrong on Point 3.

Following up...

<blockquote>
Editorial: Hello, world. An open letter from ‘war-ravaged’ Portland

By The Oregonian Editorial Board Published: Oct. 12, 2025,7:00 a.m.

The truth about what’s happening in Portland doesn’t matter to the Trump administration. Portland is simply the chosen backdrop for the president’s dramatization of a commander-in-chief whose troops quash a budding rebellion in a show of unfettered might. Cue the inspirational music. That the supposed rebellion consists of protesters in frog suits and chicken costumes holding dance parties outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building is an unimportant detail. As this administration has demonstrated before, when reality doesn’t give you the pictures you want, just paint your own.

But the truth of what’s happening in Portland matters to the 640,000 of us who live here. While we have our eyes wide open to the significant challenges facing Portland, the descriptions of a city that’s “burning to the ground” don’t match what we see around us. Even the one block of protests outside the ICE building doesn’t merit the hyperbole. The heated demonstrations of four months ago have died down dramatically, and federal and Portland police have made arrests when criminal behavior justified it. Portlanders may disagree over how much leeway to give protesters, but there’s no disputing that the characterizations of widespread violence and riotous behavior are flat-out false.

The truth of what’s happening here should matter beyond Portland, however. Regardless of whether people have any connection to the city, they should recognize the danger of a federal government that’s willing to unleash the “full force” of the military in a peaceful city whose politics differ from the president’s.

Certainly, conservative TV networks, social media firebrands and others are blasting footage that they contend disproves the idea that Portland is peaceful. Some of those images are recycled from 2020 protests, which were undoubtedly destructive and marked a turning point for this city in its approach to demonstrations. Other unfiltered sites offer a different picture. On KATU’s new 24-hour livestream, viewers can see protesters wearing inflatable animal costumes, sometimes dancing, while others yell out or play music in a generally relaxed setting.

And some other images do capture moments of rudeness and criminality – moments that occur in every town and every city across the country. They don’t prove that Portland is a lawless warzone, any more than cherrypicked stories of worse violence from Dallas, where a woman was killed outside a PetSmart store reportedly for not saying “thank you,” or Miami, where two police officers were shot last Thursday, do. Should those cities, which are run by Republican mayors and Trump endorsers, also be
condemned?

Even if people aren’t convinced by the footage from KATU or from the new isportlandburning.com website, they should consider what else has been happening in Portland. In the past week and a half, thousands of people came to Portland to run the Portland Marathon – right past the ICE building; pop singer Benson Boone joined a throng of elementary school kids pedaling to school together as part of the made-in-Portland “bike bus” movement; and international designers showcased their work on the runway at FashioNXT, Portland’s annual fashion event now in its 12th year. This city of food carts and farmers markets, where bookstores enjoy cultlike devotion and tree removals trigger celebrations of life, doesn’t need the military here to restore peace and order. We already have it.

Portland does have a long tradition of protest which explains why the city is so accepting of it. Not every community has that history. Some may not share the view that demonstrations and the right to assembly are simply another facet of patriotism. But people stop speaking up when they are afraid, resigned or indifferent. Protest stems from a fundamental belief that people’s voices can make a difference and that our government – on the local, state or federal level – is strong enough to hear them. There is perhaps no more patriotic sentiment than faith in our government’s ability to evolve.

None of this is to deny the significant problems that Portland faces or the difficulties it has had in rebounding from the damage of the 2020 protests and the pandemic. Portland continues to struggle to tame its unsheltered homelessness and untreated behavioral health crises, despite hundreds of millions of dollars and top-level attention. Declining property values for downtown Portland towers are cutting deeply into local government revenue while forcing budget cuts. Although crime has declined dramatically from the pandemic years, Portland’s residents and businesses understandably want more progress.

But solving those problems are our priorities. And none of that is reason for the federal government to send military troops. If the struggles of a local government to solve problems – often rooted in federal failures – are justification for military deployments, then every city across the country should expect troops coming their way.

Our leaders are continuing to show up. Oregon’s governor, Portland’s mayor, City Council and other state and local elected officials are holding Oregonians together and have been united in not taking Trump’s bait. Portland police officers are successfully keeping the peace with proactive outreach to protesters, monitoring federal officers’ actions and making quick arrests when necessary. Residents are showing tremendous restraint despite our city being unfairly targeted, taunted and maligned – actions designed to instigate a reaction. And some of Oregon’s most prominent Republicans are also helping push back against the false characterizations with carefully crafted statements encouraging an outcome in which local authorities take the lead.

The city may need to take stronger action such as enforcing a small buffer to prevent clashes with federal officers who, as a Portland police assistant chief testified, appear to be instigating some confrontations. And Mayor Keith Wilson told The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board that city officials and law enforcement partners are evaluating their response every day and are prepared to make changes if and when circumstances warrant it. Additionally, they are exploring how to limit noise and adopt other changes to provide relief for neighbors and businesses in the immediate area. These are not signs of a city that the Trump administration contends is “out of control.”

But that doesn’t seem to matter, as Portland is Trump’s target for now. The question for the rest of the country is whose community is next?

-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board Oregonian editorials
/<blockquote>

Following up 2.0

<blockquote>

Portland cyclists strip down in pouring rain to protest ICE facility and Trump troop deployment

Portland Oregonian - Published 2025-1012 - Updated 2025-1013

More than a thousand 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 for a moment of silence 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 standing on the roof in a fashion show of rain jackets, Halloween costumes and nothing at all.

Fifteen minutes later, Rowena Paz Norman stood beside her bike in a soaked Care Bear onesie. She had joined the World Naked Bike Ride, which grew to several thousand people by the time it passed the ICE building, despite the downpour. “I’m proud of our city,” Norman said. “We have problems like any other city, but this is a moment of joy.”

Around 5 p.m., federal agents fired pepper balls into the crowd and detained two people.
/<blockquote>

Following up 3.0
<blockquote>
Federal agents barrel into band at Portland ICE protest, arrest clarinetist, accuse her of assault
Portland Oregonian - Published 2025-1014 - Updated 2025-1015

A clarinet player for a Portland marching troupe that frequently performs during protests was arrested Sunday when federal agents barreled into the band while pursuing another suspect, bystander video shows.

Members of the Unpresidented Brass Band were playing the theme from “Ghostbusters” on a patch of gravel across the street from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in South Portland when clarinetist Oriana Korol was arrested.

Korol, a 38-year-old child and family therapist, was detained at ICE and then taken to the Clark County Jail. Demonstrators detained by federal officers are sometimes quickly released but other times have been lodged in outside facilities such as the Columbia and Yamhill county jails, pending formal charges.

On Tuesday afternoon, supporters were outside the federal courthouse after learning Korol did not have a scheduled appearance. As of 2 p.m., the federal government had not filed charges against her as she sat in jail, where a Clark County Sheriff’s Office representative said she was being held on suspicion of assault on a federal officer.

Founder and trumpet player Miles Thompson said it’s the first time a member of the band has been arrested since it was formed in 2017 during a large demonstration demanding that President Donald Trump release his tax returns.

Thompson, 43, said federal agents had just exited the fortified facility and appeared to be chasing a protester when the protester and officer collided with band members, most of whom were wearing banana costumes.

“Ori, our clarinet player, was pinned against this fence, with whoever they’re trying to detain at her feet, and she’s just kind of stuck,” Thompson said in an interview Tuesday. “Then suddenly one of the other officers just tackled her. I didn’t see anything that warranted any kind of arrest.”

A video posted on social media showed officers pushing into a crowd to make several arrests on South Bancroft Street. One demonstrator appears to break free from a scrum and runs toward the band. Officers pursue the suspect and take him to the ground.

Another video showed Korol wedged between several officers, tripping over them and the detained suspect as she falls into the mud. An officer then pins her as well. The videos don’t capture the complete sequence of events, and authorities haven’t said what specific conduct triggered her arrest.

Thompson said the other 14 or so members of their band stopped playing and were chanting “shame” when Korol was suddenly arrested, her clarinet lying beside her.

Korol’s partner, with whom she has a 3-year-old child, and members of the band performed outside the Clark County Jail and demanded their fellow musician’s release on Monday night.

Thompson said the arrest underscores how demonstrations have changed in tone since Trump’s first term.

“A huge part of the fascist creep here has to do with how much crazy stuff is happening, which kind of normalizes it and allows them to do more,” the band leader said. “It’s got to stay shocking to us.”

The federal administration is locked in a legal battle with city and state leaders over whether Trump can lawfully deploy federalized soldiers from the National Guard to Portland. An appeal is pending.

The arrest happened after hundreds of bare and barely-clothed bicyclists arrived at the ICE office as part of a demonstration. Protests have occurred regularly at the South Portland site for more than 130 days, with tensions ebbing and flowing largely in response to the federal mobilization.

Both local police and federal law enforcement officers have made dozens of arrests, with Trump administration officials calling the long-running demonstration at a single Portland location an act of terrorism that’s placed the city under anarchy.

Protesters, in turn, have increasingly shed their ensembles of black clothing for colorful costumes in hopes of contradicting Trump’s martial rhetoric.

On Tuesday, U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson suggested the “most threatening thing” to occur in Portland was the naked bike ride.

Thompson says the band will be back at ICE next weekend — bringing the oomp-pah-pahs in hopes of spreading a joyful spirit to the demonstration.

“We have a lot of work to do here,” he said.
/<blockquote>

This is worth repeating.

“A huge part of the fascist creep here has to do with how much crazy stuff is happening, which kind of normalizes it and allows them to do more,” the band leader said. “It’s got to stay shocking to us.”

Following up 4.0

<blockquote>
Why Portland ICE protesters are showing up dressed as giant inflatable animals
Portland Oregonian Published: Oct. 15, 2025

Some of the most viral images to come from the protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland have also been the silliest: protesters dressed as zebras, frogs, unicorns, chickens and clowns.

On Monday, a group of five frogs — perhaps, technically, an army — danced in front of the ICE facility. Some held signs or wore capes with the Portland Frog Brigade logo.

The frog contingent has grown steadily since protester Seth Todd was pepper-sprayed by officers on Oct. 2 while wearing an inflatable frog suit.

Jordy, a livestreamer who asked to be identified only by his first name due to concerns about harassment from counter-protesters, was inspired by online clips of the so-called “Portland Freedom Frog.”

What the ICE protests needed, he thought, wasn’t just more frogs — but a full inflatable menagerie of squirrels, sharks, raccoons and more.

“When you have people in inflatables bouncing around … it’s going to be very difficult to say this was a war zone, this was a riot,” Jordy said. “It de-escalates with ICE, it de-escalates with protesters, it de-escalates with counter-protesters — and, ironically enough, the pepper balls bounce right off.”

Jordy created a simple website, operationinflation.com, where visitors are invited to contribute $35 to “provide an inflatable costume for a True American.™”

The site launched just over a week ago. Jordy initially hoped to collect enough to buy a couple dozen suits to hand out outside the ICE building.

But as he put it — pardon the inflation pun — “This whole thing has blown up a lot.”

So far, he says, Operation Inflation has ordered around 100 costumes, delivered in batches each night to the protest site, with more on the way.

On Monday evening, a clothing rack lined with about 20 inflatable costumes appeared on the sidewalk near the ICE facility — each free for the taking.

In the absurdist, satirical tradition of the post-World War I Dadaist movement, Jordy believes this costumed protest tactic is key to countering President Trump’s narrative that Portland is “war-ravaged.”

“Every person in an inflatable costume,” Jordy said, “makes it harder for the Trump administration to invoke the Insurrection Act or try to spread this messaging of Portland being a dangerous place.”

The costumes are free for anyone who wants one — to borrow or keep.

“I’m not the architect of this movement,” Jordy said. “I’m just trying to hit the gas.”

A slight word of caution for donors: Operation Inflation is an ad hoc project, not a registered nonprofit. For those unsure about donating money, Molly, a volunteer handing out costumes Monday evening, said some people had dropped off costumes for the cause directly at the site.

Molly provided fan batteries as two people picked out a cow and a blue dinosaur from the costume rack.

“It just shows how ludicrous this is,” Molly said. “These are not violent protesters. These are American protesters.”

Federal agents have arrested about 30 people outside the Portland ICE facility since June, including about 15 people who have been accused of assaulting or attempting to assault federal officers. But the protests have remained peaceful, with protesters generally limiting their interactions with officers to verbal taunts.

Frogs, unicorns, and chickens have been the most popular choices so far. While frog suits remain in rotation, Jordy says the broader costume selection is intentional.

“I felt like it was more wholesome and creative to leave it open for people to identify with different costumes,” he said. “I wanted something that would allow people to be whatever they wanted to be.”

The group is saving up costumes to distribute at a No Kings protest march planned for Saturday, and plans to have a large stock on hand for Halloween.

“It changed the entire dynamic instantly,” Jordy said. “And now it’s grown so much that we’re trying to reach out to other cities and expand this into an ‘inflation response network.’”

Jordy sees the costumes as a mobilization strategy — both to encourage more people to attend protests and to counter negative depictions of the city.

“You don’t need to be part of a huge organization to have a disproportionate amount of political influence,” he said. “One extra person in an inflatable makes a huge difference.”
/<blockquote>

Following up 5.0

<blockquote>
‘Craftivism’ draws knitters, crocheters to Portland ICE protests

Portland Oregonian Oct. 17, 2025

In true Portland fashion, a group of knitters and crocheters gathered outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland on Thursday to protest the best way they knew how – with yarn.

“I’m just a self-proclaimed yarn punk,” said crocheter Vincent Green-Hite, “and I think crafting is one of the most punk things you can be doing right now.”

Green-Hite, who has a sizable Instagram following for his fiber art, set up a small folding table with yarns and crochet hooks alongside other protesters across from the ICE building. He was offering free crochet lessons for anyone interested.

“I know many generations have used crochet and knitting as a tool for resistance,” he said. “I figured since I already teach classes, been doing it for years, I may as well come out and to show anyone how to do it. Crochet, knitting, all fiber arts are for anybody. And so is the city of Portland.”

Green-Hite himself was working on a crocheted frog scarf, inspired by the protesters in inflatable frog costumes who call themselves the Portland Frog Brigade.

“The frogs have done a great job of showing the world that it’s just silly to call Portland a violent place,” he said. “It’s a weird city, a really creative one, and one for the crafts. So, we’re just out here displaying our First Amendment right to just craft in peace.”

He was pleasantly surprised to find a group of knitters also at the protest site, who joined him around the table.

Knitting has been a staple of Portland protest movements. (Remember the pink pussy hats?)

Later this month, a group called Common Cause Oregon will host a Knitting In protest from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 25 at the corner of Southwest Park Avenue and Mill Street during the Portland Farmers Market. Participants are encouraged to bring a camping chair and a knitting (or other craft) project to protest the Trump administration’s plan to deploy federal troops in Portland.

Other knitting groups are getting involved in protests.

Earlier on Thursday, Michele Lee Bernstein, who runs the PDX Knitterati website and social media accounts, was among a group of about eight knitters protesting outside the ICE building. The women brought folding lawn chairs and knitting projects, and propped up a sign that quoted the Book of Exodus: “And if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will send a plague of frogs.”

“My aim for the protest is to show that our beautiful city of Portland is not burning to the ground, is not war-ravaged, and is not out of control,” Lee Bernstein said. “We don’t need a federalized National Guard to come in. Peaceful protest is a constitutional right, and that is what we are doing.”

She said she knitted from about 9:30 a.m. to noon, and spoke with several tourists who were curious about what was going on in the protest block that has drawn national attention.

“I spoke with people from New York City, Nebraska, Florida, Colorado,” she said. “They were all very supportive of our craftivism.”

Courtney Dowell showed up around 4:30 p.m. Thursday with four other knitting friends. They stood across the street from the ICE building, joining Green-Hite. Dowell was knitting a hat with the words “Knitters Against ICE” across it.

“We have such a big, lovely knitting community in Portland, that’s how a lot of my friends know each other, and we thought you need to have a fun protesting, and that’s how we have fun,” she said. “Also, I think it makes fascists look stupid.”
The knitters stayed until about 6:30 p.m. and left as it got dark.

Conflicts between protesters and federal officers are more likely to occur after sunset. That’s when officers emerge from the building and into the street to allow vehicles to come or go from the facility. (Vehicles pass without this added security during the day.) Some protesters get close to officers to yell at or film them.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, officers broke from their standard formation to rush into the crowd and detain someone. In the process, officers crashed into Green-Hite’s table of crochet supplies. Skeins of partially unraveled yarn were left scattered in the dirt.

Green-Hite was fine, though. Other protesters helped pick up the yarn, reset the table, and he continued to crochet.

“Art is political, always, inherently, and this is just another way to show it,” he said. “I can’t wait to see how other people are creative with their resistance.”

**************************************************************************************************

Free beer for frogs? Portland restaurants, bars support ‘No Kings’ protests with discounted drafts
Portland Oregonian Oct. 17, 2025

It’s not your imagination. The inflatables are expanding.

Outside Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Tuesday, this reporter saw a frog, a cow, a capybara, a wombat, a raccoon and two hippos in pink tutus doing The Hokey Pokey. On Thursday, at least five green frogs bounced along to music as federal officers occasionally fired pepper balls into the crowd.

Expect that army to grow even further this weekend. Timed for Portland’s latest No Kings march this Saturday, several local bars and restaurants are offering free beers to protestors in inflatable costumes, especially frogs.

“Ribbit ribbit,” sandwich shop Lardo (1212 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.) wrote on social media. “We will be running a special this Saturday 10/18 for the ‘No Kings’ movement. $3 beers all day if you dress up in an inflatable costume. And FREE beers for anyone dressed up as a frog.”

Meanwhile, beer bar and bottle shop John’s Marketplace (3560 S.E. Powell Blvd., 3535 S.W. Multnomah Blvd. and 3700 Hall Blvd.) will pour $4 drafts for anyone in an inflatable costume or carrying a No Kings sign all day Saturday. Meanwhile, Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom (3090 S.E. Division St.) will pour $1 pints for anyone entering its protest sign contest during its No King post-party on Saturday (with $2 discounts for everyone else).

“For us it was just a way to support without being able to actually be there, since we have to be at work,” said Lardo operating partner Nick Schuurman. “The costumes have brought a little bit of joy during this dark time, so why not give them a cheap or even free beer to enjoy on their way to or from the protest.”

According to Schuurman, the “No Kings” promotion announcement Thursday has become Lardo’s most popular Instagram post of all time, with 3,600 likes and 1,300 reshares to date.

“And even better, almost 90 percent of the response has been positive, which isn’t always the case,” he said.

Those leaving their lily pads in costume on Saturday won’t just be eligible for free suds. Scottie’s Pizza Parlor will support costumed protestors with a free slice of pizza.

“We just love the inflatable costumes and the way that they’ve brought so much levity to the circumstances,” said Scott Rivera of Scottie’s Pizza. “What a fun way to build constructive community.”

Additionally, Rivera and his wife, Scottie’s co-owner Amy Coplen, had just purchased their own pair of Big Foot inflatables for the march. They practiced walking in the costumes for a video announcing Saturday’s special and the return of Scottie’s seasonal Sasquash pizza, which comes with roasted Delicata squash, fresh mozzarella, sage, candied hazelnuts and a hot honey drizzle.

“It took some practicing to get the John Travolta strut in our video right,” Rivera said. “There are some bloopers of us tripping over the Big Foot feet.”

For anyone planning to put on a costume and have a pint or two this weekend, take Rivera’s note to heart. And remember the “Inflatable Safety” warning sign posted next to a rack of costumes near the ICE building: “You can’t move fast or see well in-costume,” the sign read. “Walk, don’t run.”
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