No. of Recommendations: 8
Following up 3.0
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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.
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