On July 4, hundreds of Black Lives Matter demonstrators gathered at the Capitol for the 6th consecutive weekend of rallies against police brutality. There were speakers, an impromptu march and they wrote Black Lives Matter down Court Street in chalk. This event was centered around young, Black voices, especially women.
Demonstrators And Armed Agitators On Court
The demonstrators were met at the Capitol by dozens of agitators, including many who brought weapons. Some of the armed agitators were the same individuals who disrupted the rallies the previous weekend and during the March For Floyd on June 6. The agitators dubbed their own event a “Rally for Liberty” and reserved Willson Park on the West side of the Capitol, however, they spent much of the morning engaging with Black Lives Matter demonstrators and trying to provoke conflict.
The armed agitators were accompanied by a group of motorcyclists, who were holding a “Freedom Ride,” around 11:30 a.m. This was right before the Black Lives Matter event was scheduled to begin. Court Street was closed by police for the rally, however, the dozens of motorcyclists sped down State, ignoring speed limits, revving their engines and flying flags from the back of their motorcycles. They also ignored pedestrians waiting to cross at crosswalks and sped around people attempting to cross the street.
Around the same time, Oregon State Police [OSP] formed two lines across the width of Court St. There were troopers facing west towards the armed agitators and others facing the demonstrators to the east. They let people through at first, but later stopped people from crossing. Salem Police Department [SPD] had a large number of officers downtown on bikes, however, they had none by the Capitol at first, as the Capitol is OSP’s jurisdiction.
At this point, there were a couple dozen agitators, including members of the Proud Boys, the Three-Percenters and the Boogaloo Boys. They were heavily armed with semi-automatic rifles, handguns, knives, bear spray and mace. They flew flags and were yelling into megaphones. They yelled things such as “All lives matter” and asserted that racism is not a problem anymore because of the civil rights movement.
On the other side, there were more than 100 Black Lives Matter demonstrators. They held signs that read things such as “This Is America, Not AmeriKKKa,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Abolish The Police” and “No Place For Hate In Salem.” Almost all of the demonstrators were wearing masks in compliance with government orders and public health guidance. Almost none of the agitators did.
A few of the Black Lives Matter demonstrators took megaphones and began to walk between the demonstrators and the police, to get the crowd more excited and loud. This resulted in the situation devolving into a yelling match between the two sides, with demonstrators chanting “Black lives matter” and the counter-protestestors attempting to drown them out with “All lives matter.” Demonstrators also yelled “Proud Boys are racist.”
There was some physical conflict as well. Someone aggressively pushed down a counter-protestor, which resulted in the arrest of the assailant. A video of the incident sparked controversy when an OSP trooper used an “okay” sign, when the trooper checked on the victim following the arrest. The “okay” sign has been co-opted by white supremacists and had been used by the armed agitators to signify “white power” throughout the day.
A video that has surfaced of Proud Boys confronting a few Black Lives Matter Demonstrators at the War Memorial. The video shows the Proud Boys yelling at them and shoving them aggressively.
A little while later, a demonstrator got too close to the line and the officer asked her to back up. When she did not comply, the trooper placed a hand on her sign and pushed her back. That same officer has faced criticism from the community for not a wearing a mask properly. This sparked chants of “ACAB, All cops are bastards.”
Around 12:10 p.m., OSP called for back-up and SPD arrived. SPD officers brought bikes and reinforced OSP’s lines facing both groups. They used the bikes to form a stronger barrier between the two groups.
The yelling back and forth continued until a little after 12:30, when the agitators began to walk back to their event at Willson Park. As they left the demonstrators sang them goodbye. The agitators went to listen to several speeches and regroup. They had signs decorating the park that said things such as “Proud Boys Lives Matter,” “Switch The B[xxxx], Recall Kate Brown” and “Party Like It’s 1776.”
Most of the Black Lives Matter crowd remained to “hold the line.” They began to chant “ACAB, all cops are bastards,” again. OSP and SPD remained in their two lines and the number of officers did not decrease.
Chalk Art
At the same time that demonstrators were “holding the line,” some gathered in the middle of Court Street to work on the giant chalk message. The phrase Black Lives Matter was outlined in front of the Capitol building, taking up the width of the street.
The outline was filled in with chalk messages from community members. The messages were about the importance of investing in communities and the need for police reform. They also called for justice for Breonna Taylor and other victims of police brutality.
Clash By The Capitol Steps
By 12:50 p.m., most of the Black Lives Matter crowd by the police had moved away, but a couple dozen remained to “hold the line.” Some added to the chalk messages, while others sat on the mall chatting and listening to speeches.
The agitators began to filter back and around 1:10 p.m. a small group of demonstrators and some agitators got into a yelling match on Court Street. OSP and SPD stood watching but did not interfere. The agitators eventually moved back to give the impression of disengagement, however, both groups remained yelling at each other. The agitators called the protestors a number of homophobic slurs.
At the same time, a small group of agitators gathered on the steps and began to yell through their megaphones. Some Black Lives Matter demonstrators went over to chant at them.
For a little while there were flashpoints at both Court and the steps.
More agitators moved towards the Capitol and dozens gathered on the lawn to the west of the steps. They proceeded to unfold a large American flag. Most of the Black Lives Matter group had moved over towards them and were standing on the other side of the hedge chanting and holding signs. Police stood between the two groups, staggered and facing both ways, on the same side as the agitators.
Rally On The Mall
By 1:30 p.m., most of the Black Lives Matter people had returned to the mall for speeches, while the agitators remained chanting on the lawn and steps. Police stayed by the agitators. The agitators eventually left and went down to another event they organized by the Riverfront.
At this point, a few hundred Black Lives Matter supporters sat spread out across the Capitol area. They listened to several speakers of varying ages and races; however, the focus was on the experiences of young, Black girls.
Lillie Holzworth discussed what it was like to be adopted into and growing up in a white family. She talked about how Black people, particularly women, are held to a higher standard and that their mistakes are less tolerated. She said that people expected her to “achieve as much as I possibly can, even if I don’t want to.”
She discussed how she learned through social media “how special it was to be Black.” She told the crowd that it made her feel more comfortable as herself when she began to see influencers being “unapologetically Black.”
“You don’t need to be extraordinary. You just need to be ordinary with the courage to stand up for what is right,” Holzworth told the crowd.
Kundai and Kudzai Kapurura, a set of twins and South alumni, also spoke about their experiences as young, Black women. Kundai shared how difficult it was to accept herself, particularly her hair. She said that it was Kudzai who helped inspire her to be true to herself.
Kudzai shared an original poem.
“Girl. African queen. Baby mama. You clearly don’t realize you’re magic,” Kudzai shared.
Natascha Antes, one of the organizers, is a young, albino, Black woman. She shared what it is like to grow up with that profile. She talked about being shunned by Black people and white people alike for not fitting their ideal standards. She also talked about why they made the decision to hold the rally on the Fourth of July.
“The American flag has been used as a weapon to oppose the very people who literally built this country. It is being used as a symbol of the hate and bigotry we the people are supposed to be united against. Today is about reclaiming our patriotism, returning the symbol of the flag to all Americans, regardless of the color of their skin,” Antes said.
Nolan Bylenga also talked about why the Fourth of July was chosen.
“The reason we are here on the Fourth of July is to restore this nation’s promise that all of us are created equal,” Bylenga shared.
A statement from Senator Jeff Merkley was read about the importance of this movement and the significance of racial justice events being held on the Fourth. He talked about how Independence Day should be a day of reflection for all.
“This July Fourth, let us all celebrate our Founders’ vision of a nation dedicated to government of, by, and for the people, and equal justice for all. And let us also celebrate all those who are striving right now to make equality a reality for every single American,” Merkley’s statement read.
By 2:40 p.m., the speeches had concluded and protestors gathered in the middle of Court for a group photo. A group of young, Black women led the chants, including “Hey, hey, ho, ho. These racist cops have got to go” and “Take to the streets. Defund the police. No justice. No Peace.” There was music playing in the background and the demonstrators were dancing.
The March
By 3:00 p.m., a few agitators donning Proud Boys shirts returned and gathered at the War Memorial. This was where minor conflicts had broken out between small groups repeatedly throughout the day. Protestors went down to confront them and yelled at the Proud Boys.
The Proud Boys got into their cars and began to drive off. One sat in the bed of a truck, as SPD officers watched from a couple hundred feet away, but did not stop him. A smaller group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators decided to follow them around the Capitol, chanting.
This sparked a march immediately around the Capitol building. The Black Lives Matter demonstrators were chanting and used horns and drums to make noise.
They returned to the Capitol by 3:30 p.m. and the remaining protestors gathered back on Court. Police still had the street closed, but the formal event was over. The remaining protestors used the megaphone as an open mic and anyone from the crowd was invited to speak or lead a chant.
Event At Riverfront
At the same time, organizers of the counter-protest were also holding an event at Riverfront Park. This event was dubbed a “block party” and had grilled food and games such as cornhole. There were lots of American flags flying and several people in Trump merch.
There were lots of children and families there. However, there was also a group of armed men with semi-automatic rifles, handguns, spades and mace. There were members of groups including the Three-Percenters and the Boogaloo Boys. There was no visible police presence.
There was a booth to recall Governor Kate Brown set up. Jeff Heyen, husband to school board member Marty Heyen who has come under fire for her handling of SROs and Paul Kyllo’s blackface during a meeting, was also present.
The event had no formal schedule and anyone was invited to speak. At least one of the speakers called for civil war.
The attendees were verbally hostile towards reporters and forced them to leave the event. They yelled at the reporters, filmed them, made false allegations, demanded a reporter’s camera and had members of the armed group follow them around to intimidate them.
