Portland protesters have armed guards, stockpiled weapons at occupied zone: police chief
Activists have reportedly refuted the mayor’s claim that they formed an autonomous zone at the Red House, and instead told a reporter for the Portland Tribune[6] that they formed an “eviction blockade.”
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Portland Police Bureau, said it responded to the home at 4400 Mississippi Ave. around 5 a.m. Tuesday “to re-secure the home in which the occupants were previously ordered removed by court order.”
The group called “Red House on Mississippi” published a press release[7] allegedly describing its own account of the events that unfolded, claiming William X Nietzche, described as a resident and son of the Red House homeowners, was arrested and injured by officers. Another son, Michael Kinney, was arrested and released later that afternoon, according to the group.
PORTLAND POLICE AND PROTESTERS CLASH IN BROAD DAYLIGHT[8]
“Despite permission to camp from the landowner, officers indiscriminately swept the area, targeting the popular free community kitchen, misgendering campers, all in the middle of an economic crisis and pandemic,” the press release said.
The home had been owned by the Afro-Indigenous Kinney family since the 1950s, according to the group’s website. They paid off their mortgage but took out another loan against the house to cover legal fees when one family member was arrested in 2002.
Julie Metcalf Kinney, one of the former homeowners, said her family is facing “sneaky and illegal foreclosure tactics, predatory banking and loans, elected judges who take campaign contributions from the real estate industry, coupled with violence from law enforcement and no real due process, have been used across this historically Black neighborhood to displace Black and poor people.”
Red House on Mississippi will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. local time Wednesday.
According to the group, demonstrators have maintained “an around-the-clock community presence along with onsite camping, a fully functional kitchen offering two free hot meals a day, and free programming centered in healing and abolition.”