Opening statements got underway Tuesday in Multnomah County at the one of the first civil trials against the city of Portland to allege unreasonable police violence during the 2020 racial justice protests. The case is being watched closely by civil rights attorneys as a potential bellwether for the more than a dozen cases coming in the trial’s wake.
One out of three members of Patriot Prayer were convicted on riot charges for their involvement in a May 1, 2019, street brawl. In July, a jury found Mackenzie Lewis, a member of far-right group Patriot Prayer, guilty of engaging in a riot during a May Day brawl with anti-fascists in 2019. The decision came after a somewhat unusual trial, which began with three defendants all facing riot charges: Lewis, Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson,.
Erin Wenzel, who sued Portland, Ore., over police use of force at a protest against police brutality, claiming an officer "ran at her and violently slammed into her with a nightstick," breaking her arm and leading to PTSD, was awarded $40,000, though she d sought $450,000.
A jury has awarded $40,000 to a woman who sued the city of Portland, Oregon, over police use of force at a 2020 protest, agreeing police used unreasonable force