The 2017 May Day protests were a series of protests that took place on May Day (May 1, 2017) over worker and immigrant rights, [1] [2] throughout the United States and around the world. Protests became violent in Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. [3] [4] Many demonstrators were protesting against the policies of President Donald Trump, [5] specifically those related to immigration. [6] [7]
The protests occurred in several major cities, including Chicago, [8] Detroit, [9] [10] Las Vegas, [11] Los Angeles, [12] [13] Miami, [14] New York City, [15] Philadelphia, [14] San Francisco, [16] Seattle, [17] and Washington, D.C. [14] Protesters against deportation held a sit-in at the office of Texas governor Greg Abbott in Austin, and blocked the driveway of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco. [7] In New York City, twelve protesters were arrested for civil disobedience after blocking the entrance to the Manhattan JPMorgan building. [18] In Oakland, California, four people were arrested for trespassing at an Alameda County government building. [19]
In Denver, a rally began in the city's Civic Center Park before a vigil occurred outside of a for-profit detention center in Aurora owned by GEO Group, which at the time was the second-largest operator of for-profit prisons and facing lawsuits representing 62,000 of their detainees for being threatened with solitary confinement. [20]
The protests in Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon turned violent [3] [21] and were classified as riots by police. [22] In Portland, protesters allegedly threw lead balls, smoke bombs, paint, glass bottles, and cans of Pepsi at officers. [23] There were multiple cases of property damage and arson. [24] This resulted in 25 arrests [25] and the cancellation of the protest permit. [22] In Olympia, black-clad protesters shattered windows, and threw smoke-issuing devices and rocks at police. [26] Some of the 50 protesters in Olympia had signs reading "delete the port" and broke windows in the Downtown Historic District. [4] Several storefronts suffered damage. Nine police officers were injured by thrown rocks, and nine protesters were arrested. [27]
Protests also occurred in the following cities:
International protests occurred in Havana, Cuba; Istanbul; Moscow, Russia; Paris, France; the Philippines; Pristina, Kosovo; Saint Petersburg, Russia; and Tbilisi, Georgia. [15] The protests in Paris, which were held over immigration and labor rights, as well as the 2017 French presidential election, turned violent when Black Bloc protesters joined the protests and began clashing with police, throwing rocks, bricks, concrete, Molotov cocktails, and firebombs. [35] French police clashed with the violent rioters throughout the day, and at least six officers were injured, with some suffering severe burns from firebombs and Molotov cocktails. [36] [37]
A black bloc is a tactic used by protesters who wear black clothing, ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets with padding or other face-concealing and face-protecting items. The clothing is used to conceal wearers' identities from both the police and politically different organizations by making it difficult to distinguish between participants. It is also used to protect their faces and eyes from pepper spray, which is used by police during protests or civil unrest. The tactic also allows the group to appear as one large unified mass. Black bloc participants are often associated with anarchism, anarcho-communism, communism, libertarian socialism and the anti-globalization movement. A variant of this type of protest is the Padded bloc, where following the Tute Bianche movement protesters wear padded clothing to protect against the police.
The word serhildan describes several Kurdish protests and uprisings since the 1990s that used the slogan "Êdî Bese" ("Enough") against Turkey. Local shops are often closed on the day of demonstrations as a form of protest.
The 2011–2012 Kurdish protests in Turkey were protests in Turkey, led by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), against restrictions of Kurdish rights by of the country's Kurdish minority's rights. Although they were the latest in a long series of protest actions by Kurds in Turkey, they were strongly influenced by the concurrent popular protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and the Turkish publication Hürriyet Daily News has suggested that the popularly dubbed "Arab Spring" that has seen revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia may lead to a "Kurdish Summer" in the northern reaches of the Middle East. Protesters have taken to the streets both in Istanbul and in southeast Turkey, with some demonstrations also reported as far west in Anatolia as İzmir.
Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011, in downtown Portland, Oregon, as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. The movement was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011.
Protests against Donald Trump have occurred in the United States and internationally since his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign. Protests have expressed opposition to Trump's campaign rhetoric, his electoral win, his first inauguration, his alleged history of sexual misconduct and various presidential actions, most notably his travel ban in 2017 and aggressive family separation policy in 2018. Some protests have taken the form of walk-outs, business closures, and petitions as well as rallies, demonstrations, and marches. While most protests have been peaceful, actionable conduct such as vandalism and assaults on Trump supporters has occurred. Some protesters have been criminally charged with rioting. The largest organized protest against Trump was the day after his first inauguration; millions protested on January 21, 2017, during the Women's March, with each individual city's protest taken into consideration, makes it the largest single-day protest in the history of the United States. Following Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, a new wave of protests was held in reaction to his second presidency.
On November 10, 2016, three days of protests in Portland, Oregon, turned into a riot, when a group of anarchists broke off from a larger group of peaceful protesters who were opposed to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.
From November 9–12, 2016, protests occurred in Oakland, California, against the election of Donald Trump. While originally peaceful, these protests became violent, with protesters lighting trash cans and cars and a building on fire and smashing store windows and throwing bottles at police. Thirty protesters were arrested, and three officers were injured.
Numerous protests in opposition to Donald Trump took place during his candidacy then his presidency. The demonstrations were largely organized and made up of left-wing American citizens throughout the United States. Protests at times were attacked by Trump-supporters and sometimes violent towards Trump supporters.
"Not My Presidents Day" was a series of rallies against the president of the United States, Donald Trump, held on Washington's Birthday, February 20, 2017. Protests were held in dozens of cities throughout the United States. Demonstrations were also held outside London's Houses of Parliament.
March 4 Trump was a series of more than two dozen demonstrations organized throughout the United States on March 4, 2017, in support of President Donald Trump. The official message of the demonstration was "Stop the fight. Let's all unite." The founder of the March 4 Trump movement is Vincent Haney, who says he was inspired to create a peaceful pro-Trump movement after listening to commentary by famous individuals speaking out against Trump and watching the anti-Trump marches. Some of the March organizers were part of the Tea Party movement.
On the night of April 28, 2016, a Trump rally in Costa Mesa, California was confronted by a crowd of anti-Trump protesters. The protesters became violent and began smashing car windows, even attempting to overturn a police cruiser, and one Trump supporter suffered a bloody gash to the face from a protester. Down the street from where protesters were jumping on a police car, several protesters climbed a traffic light to shout "Fuck Trump," and others began a mosh pit in the middle of the street. The protesters also threw rocks at police lines and scuffled with Trump supporters leaving the event. Traffic was backed up for hours due to the unrest and 20 people were arrested on numerous charges.
Patriot Prayer is an American far-right group founded by Joey Gibson in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Washington, a suburban city in the Portland metropolitan area. Since 2016, the group has organized several dozen pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies held in cities in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. Often met with large numbers of counter-protesters, attendees have repeatedly clashed with left-wing groups in the Portland area. Far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys, have attended the rallies organized by Patriot Prayer, as well as white nationalists, sparking controversy and violence.
Joseph Owan Gibson is an American right-wing activist and the founder of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, which is active in Portland, Oregon and other cities within the Pacific Northwest.
Occupy ICE is a series of protests, modeled on the Occupy Movement, that emerged in the United States in reaction to the Trump administration family separation policy, with a goal of disrupting operations at several U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) locations.
Starting in May 2020, protests following the murder of George Floyd were held in the city of Portland, Oregon, concurrent with protests in other cities in the United States and around the world. By July 2020, many of the protests, which had been held every day since May 28, drew more than 1,000 participants. Protests continued into August, September, and October 2020, often drawing hundreds.
In June 2020, the Trump administration began deploying federal law enforcement forces to select cities in the United States in response to rioting and monument removals amid the George Floyd protests. Federal law enforcement elements were deployed under Operation Legend, Operation Diligent Valor, and the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited an executive order regarding "monuments, memorials and statues" as allowing federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual U.S. states, as the federal government "has the right to enforce federal laws, investigate crimes and make arrests" within states.
Protests began in multiple cities in the United States following the 2020 United States presidential election between then-President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger Vice President Joe Biden, held on November 3, 2020. Biden won the election, receiving 81.3 million votes (51.3%) to Trump's 74.2 million (46.9%) and winning the Electoral College by 306 to 232. Biden's victory became clear on November 7, after the ballots had been tabulated. The Electoral College voted on December 14, in accordance with law, formalizing Biden's victory.
Tusitala John Toese also known as Tiny, is a convicted felon. He is a member of the Proud Boys, a far-right group that engages in political violence in the United States. He was, and still is, a member of the Portland area far-right group Patriot Prayer, prior to joining the Proud Boys and has been convicted of multiple criminal charges for violence at rallies.
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