Dozens of black-clad marchers roamed through the streets of Northeast Portland late Saturday, heading from Grant Park to the Hollywood district and damaging businesses along the way. The “direct action” event was advertised as a response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Friday.
“If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either,” read one flier announcing the march. The Portland Police Bureau said the group damaged numerous businesses but it was not able to intervene.
“Officers were monitoring the crowd, but did not have resources to intervene in the moment,” the bureau said early Sunday in a news release. “At the time of this event, there was an injury shooting and a stabbing in East Precinct, and a felony assault in Central Precinct. Additionally, a community festival in North Precinct was underway, an impromptu ‘dance party’ drew approximately 1,000 people to Irving Park, and they held a march and blocked traffic. There were also calls about speed racers doing stunts in various parts of Portland.”
The activity in Irving Park was part of the bike festival Pedalpalooza, according to event listings, and was not associated with the protest march from Grant Park.
The demonstrators vandalized Mother and Child Education Center, a nonprofit that says on its website it has offered “practical help to thousands of pregnant women in the greater Portland area since its founding in 1971.”
Maura White, executive director of Mother and Child, said Sunday her organization offers resources to parents and caretakers of children and is not an anti-abortion pregnancy center. “We’re not anything like that,” she said. “I’m a pro-choice, liberal Catholic Democrat.”
Other businesses in the Hollywood area along Sandy Boulevard also were damaged, including a Starbucks and Bank of America.
Sam Adams, a top aide to Mayor Ted Wheeler, was on scene as officers surveyed the damage to the Hollywood District.
“It’s despicable,” Adams said of the vandalism. “We need more police.”
Portland mayoral aide Sam Adams is on scene of a vandalized Starbucks in NE Portland.
— Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) June 26, 2022
“It’s despicable,” he says, “we need more police.” pic.twitter.com/vVNZQH4QbQ
Police said officers were contacting affected business owners to secure the buildings.
In the weeks since a draft of the Roe decision was leaked, several pregnancy support centers have been vandalized, including First Image in Gresham.
— Zane Sparling; zsparling@oregonian.com; 503-319-7083; @pdxzane