Sunday, Aug. 16
Tents, American flags, as well as Blue Lives Matter and Trump 2020 flags, folding chairs and a barbecue grill filled the front of the Springfield Public Library during the Pro America Rally and Flag Wave hosted by the Oregon Patriots starting at 6 p.m.
Organizers passed out food to the crowd of around 60 mostly maskless people after both the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance.
While no major incidents occurred, two men patrolled the area with paintball guns.
Monday, Aug. 17
Six days prior to a planned seven-to-eight-hour long “Know Your Rights” teach-in on Sunday, Aug. 23, Black Unity hosted “an abridged version,” with guest-speaker and Civil Liberties Defense Center lawyer Cooper Brinson.
The group of approximately 50 people gathered at the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse starting at 7 p.m.
While still at the courthouse, Clea Ibrahim, one of BU’s leaders, spoke about her brother who is currently serving a 40-year sentence in Texas after “getting in trouble at a convenience store and not knowing his rights.”
Shortly thereafter, a man drove by in a truck and called the crowd “fucking [n-words].”
By 7:40 p.m. the march began, walked past a small group of counter-protesters and went to the Post Office on Fifth Ave. The group stopped for a “pit stop” and quick lesson on President Donald Trump’s actions toward USPS before continuing to the Lane County Jail.
Once at the jail, the crowd sat in the street and listened to Brinson go over a few basic “Know Your Rights” talking points, including what to do if a law enforcement officer comes to your door — always ask to see a warrant prior to opening — and how illegal and dangerous it is to attempt to dearrest someone.
“You’ll likely catch a case,” Brinson said.
At 8:30 p.m., shortly after Brinson was done speaking, the counter-protesters marched down the sidewalk. The pink-clad wall of moms first confronted the group, but then allowed the counter-protesters to mingle in-between short bursts of heated debate between the two sides.
During the march back to the federal courthouse, two counter-protesters jumped in front of a moving vehicle leading the group and unsuccessfully attempted to stop it.
At the courthouse, the group socialized for a little bit and most had left by 9:20 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 19
Black Unity returned to the federal courthouse and held an open forum starting at 7 p.m.
After eating Sizzle Pie pizzas for roughly half an hour, the group of between 40 and 60 people got together in front of the courthouse and listened to members of BU’s leadership respond to pre-submitted questions from social media.
The speakers touched on topics such as universities who purchase furniture made using prison labor to how school resource officers feed into the prison industrial complex during the event that went past 9 p.m.
