Proud Boys Denied Permit For Massive Portland Rally

The Williamette Week reports:

Portland Parks and Recreation has denied a permit for a planned Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer rally in Delta Park on Saturday. In a statement, City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees city parks, said the rally of right-wing groups would violate social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It remains unclear whether the permit denial will mean Portland police will clear the Proud Boys from Delta Park. Police have regularly allowed protest groups to assemble without permits. And two other law enforcement agencies rejected a request from Portland police to assist with crowd control at Saturday’s events, citing Mayor Ted Wheeler’s ban on tear gas.

The city’s correspondence with the organizer of the Proud Boys rally shows the permit was withheld in part because of the crowd size listed in the application: 20,000 people. The maximum size of gathering the city will permit in the pandemic is 50 people.

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