{"id":196417,"date":"2025-10-13T05:40:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T05:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/196417\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T05:40:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T05:40:08","slug":"portland-cyclists-strip-down-in-pouring-rain-to-protest-ice-facility-and-trump-troop-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/196417\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland cyclists strip down in pouring rain to protest ICE facility and Trump troop deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a thousand cyclists in various states of undress braved the rainy streets<\/a> of Portland on Sunday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump\u2019s attempts to send National Guard troops<\/a> to the city. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a few hundred more marched from Elizabeth Caruthers Park in the South Waterfront to the nearby U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhose streets? Our streets!\u201d protestors chanted as they walked toward the facility with a huge banner that read \u201cAbolish I.C.E.,\u201d accompanied by a marching band dressed in banana costumes. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s critically important to include joy, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re here,\u201d said Miles Thompson, a 43-year-old electrical engineer who conducts and plays trumpet with the Unpresidential Brass Band. \u201cWe\u2019re winning this narrative battle. We\u2019re here to show we\u2019re not terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel Langford joined the march and said she was protesting against ICE for the first time Sunday. <\/p>\n

The 48-year-old said it was time to stop being a bystander. \u201cI couldn\u2019t just sit and watch it on my screen any more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Langford said she\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Portland has really met the moment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Organizers of the World Naked Bike Ride scheduled an \u201cemergency\u201d ride Sunday to highlight \u201cthe militarization of Portland and the ongoing harm being done to immigrant and Indigenous communities,\u201d according to a joint Instagram post<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Riders gathered outside the Oregon Convention Center under gray skies and in just 53 degree weather.<\/p>\n

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\u2019-lantern suit of \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d character David S. Pumpkins. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re cold, but not as cold as ICE,\u201d said a sign on one rider\u2019s back. <\/p>\n

Cyclists followed a route south to the Burnside Bridge where they staged a \u201cdie-in,\u201d lying down next to their bikes for a moment of silence before continuing along their route.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of our city,\u201d Norman said. \u201cWe have problems like any other city, but this is a moment of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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