SALEM, OREGON — A group of about 300 demonstrators attempted to force their way into two separate entrances of the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, outraged lawmakers were holding a special session closed to the public.
The crowd was a loose collection of members of the Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer and other far-right groups, many of them are armed with pistols and rifles. At one point during the demonstration, which began around 9 a.m., a woman tried to climb in a window on the west side of the government building. Oregon State Troopers, however, repelled her—before two more troopers showed up to insist that she get off the ledge.
Those troopers were quickly chased off by screaming protesters, many of them toting long black rifles.
Minutes later, the crowd moved to the building’s north entrance and attempted to push their way in. A dozen more troopers arrived at the door, declared it an unlawful assembly, and pushed the crowd back, using some kind of deterrent in a series of “pop” sounds, at which point the protesters […]